Leaguer in Training
by acosta perez jose ramiro
Summary: Sequel to ‘The Ultimate Ally’ being an honorary member of The Justice League, Danny starts his training to become a full time one. CROSSOVER.
1. Summer Camp

Hello, everyone! It's me again! (Look! Next to the fridge! It's a nerd! It's a pain! It's…) Tucker, cut it, can you? And you're like one hundred times more a nerd than I will ever be. (Good point.) Okay; now, please, say the disclaimer.

(DISCLAIMER; Danny Phantom and all the related characters, including yours truly, is owned by Nickelodeon; we'll have several guest stars in this story owned by DC Comics and Warner Brothers; of course, Ramiro doesn't own any of us.)

Thanks; now, before starting, I want to admit some major influence for this story coming from one of my reviewers, Anthony Richardson, a.k.a. mkusenagi2. (Yep; he has done some pretty cool stories fusing several comic book universes, mainly Marvel, with the _'Kim Possible'_ series; check it if you want, but let me warn you, most of it is rated M.) Good thing you mentioned that, Tuck; also, we want to assure you guys this story will keep its 'T' rating; don't want any troubles. (Why should we? I mean, just because he writes some scenes with Kim and Ron that…) Wait, you hadn't been reading that, right, Tucker? You're underage! (_-blushes and chuckles nervously- _You don't have a story to present?)

I'm talking with you later. Okay, on with the show!

**Leaguer in Training.**

**A _Danny Phantom_ story by Acosta Pérez José Ramiro.**

**- Summer Camp.**

"Let's see… toothbrush, checked; socks, checked; communicator, checked…"

"Don't forget the camera, and the pen for the autographed pictures! And remember, when autographing my photos, try convincing the ladies to leave a lipstick mark on them."

Danny rolled his eyes at Tucker's statement, yet chuckled slightly while finally zipping his backpack. Both boys were at Danny's bedroom, where the ghost boy was done preparing his baggage for the summer; it would be the most interesting camp Danny would ever attend.

Not everybody spends its summer at the Justice League's embassy.

"Are you ready, Danny? Val called from Star's house; she will be here in a few minutes." Jazz's voice was heard from downstairs.

"Yes, I'm ready!" Danny replied, and then turned at Tucker, "Well, Tuck, it's time… boy, I'm feeling like a thousand butterflies in my stomach!"

"I don't know why; I mean, you and Superman are like bacon and eggs. Don't think meeting other heroes will be that hard."

"Tucker, we're not that close, and I still feel a little nervous when he's around, I mean, the guy is… well, he's Superman! And what if I screw things up, or not having what's necessary, or…"

"Getting cold feet already?" Danny turned to see Sam giving him a knowing smile. "Danny, you had saved the world like a dozen times; in other words, you're as much as a hero as any of them, so relax, you'll do it fine; besides, this is a good chance to rest from all the Phantom's fan girls and reporters stalking you all day."

Danny got a little smile; even if he and Valerie had been an item for a while now, and both crazy in love with each other, Sam still remained his best friend besides Tucker, and she knew exactly what to say whenever he was either down or worried. And certainly, the last few months Danny's friends and family's support was particularly important to him.

The whole thing started when General Zod, a Superman's enemy, escaped imprisonment in the Ghost/Phantom Zone (a very severe kryptonian punishment reserved just for the worst criminals) and attacked Amity. Danny, with some help from Val, was able to fight him for a while, but at a consequence of said battle both their secret identities were revealed world wide; then, when Superman arrived to handle the villain, Vlad, fearing Danny would reveal his secret as well if surviving, entered the scene to help the general, and it was almost a miracle the heroes could prevail even with tons of help from Clockwork, Danielle, and Danny's parents.

That episode caused major changes in Danny's life, and, by association, in all his loved ones as well. Vlad's true nature was finally exposed, and lost his freedom alongside his fortune, eliminating a major menace, and Wayne Corp, the new owner of his company, gave both Danny and Valerie's parents new and very well paid jobs; Jack and Maddie, now knowing about his powers, were very understanding, so he finally could stop lying to them; and he no longer feared being bullied by Dash, or worried about his grades, since the teachers considered his superhero job when assigning homework or presenting an exam.

Not every change was positive, of course; as Sam said, he no longer had a private life with everyone looking at him all the time taking notes of every single thing Danny did, either as a human or as a ghost. Many girls at school were after him, especially Paulina, and it was just because of Danny's ability to turn Valerie and him self invisible and intangible to avoid them that the couple could still enjoy some time alone, and Paulina was still conserving her teeth.

The greatest change, however, was his honorary membership to the Justice League, recommended by Superman himself; now Danny had a very powerful back-up in case he ever needed it, but, of course, it also meant he had to act as back-up as well if the leaguers called him. Because of this, Superman talked to him and his parents, and convinced them to allow Danny to spend a month at the League's embassy so he could get some training and get used to work alongside other heroes; he might even participate in some missions as field training, if his tutors considered him ready enough. Despite Jack and Maddie being worried about the possibility of Danny getting hurt if facing a super villain, they eventually accepted and gave him permission to go.

"I'm really going to miss you guys. Please, take care, okay?" Danny said to both Tucker and Sam.

"Don't worry about us, Danny; just focus on what you're doing, and try to have some fun as well."

"Yeah, and kick some villains' butts for us when doing it." Tucker added, making his friends to chuckle a little. Danny then gave them both a little hug, and, grabbing his suitcase and backpack, made them all to phase down to the living room, where his parents and Jazz were waiting for him.

"Oh, my baby is going camp just when he was ten!" Maddie said in a motherly tone while hugging Danny, who blushed a little in embarrassment yet smiled widely at her.

"Remember to call us everyday, okay, son? Oh, and if you see a ghost, call us even faster." Jack said as placing a hand on Danny's shoulder, giving him a proud look.

"Take care, brother, and… well, make us proud as usually." Jazz and Danny embraced tightly. At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Tucker opened the door.

"Hi, Mister Gray, Val," Tucker greeted both Valerie and her dad, who greeted him as well while entering the house. Danny and Jazz broke the embrace, and dashed next to Val to give her a little kiss on her cheek.

"So, are you ready, Ghost?" Valerie smiled at Danny, who chuckled a little at the use of his pet name; kind of ironic considering it was also the way Valerie always called him when they were on the hunter-prey state of their relationship.

"Yes, and I see you are as well." Danny pointed at the backpack Valerie was carrying.

The girl was accepted as well as an honorary leaguer, but, unlike Danny, she wasn't interested on being a full-time member. Considering Danny would need to be absent for several days if a mission required it, having The Red Huntress permanently based in Amity was a good idea; Valerie would go to the embassy as well but only for a couple of weeks so her hunting gear and weapons could be analyzed and updated (Jack and Maddie already had made some analysis on it, and sent the results to the League's scientists), plus getting some lessons from the League's top fighters.

"Now, Danny, I want to talk with you about something." Damon said to the boy in serious tone. "I know you and my daughter really like each other, and I trust you, but, well, since you two will be on your own several miles away from here…"

"Mister Gray, we'll be at a huge building with several adults around; even if we tried doing something that wasn't exactly… adequate," Danny and Valerie blushed a little when he said that, making Tucker to chuckle and the rest of the group to get serious looks, "doubt we would be able to do it with guys who can see through walls watching us."

"Saying that for me, Danny?"

Everyone turned at the door, and wide opened their eyes at the sight of Superman, arms folded and giving them a little smile.

"Sorry… needed a good argument." Danny chuckled nervously, making everyone else to relax and chuckle as well.

"Can't deny it; Mister and Mrs. Fenton, Mister Gray," Superman directed to the adults, "I know this isn't easy for any of you, but promise we'll keep an eye on Danny and Valerie in every sense of the world. Besides, you trust them to handle ghosts, so guess you can do it as well in other matters."

"Guess so; well, thanks again, S-Man." Jack shook hands with Superman, and Maddie did the same a moment later.

"Please, take care of our kids; no matter how powerful Danny is, he'll always be our baby."

"Mom," Danny rolled his eyes.

"I understand, Mrs. Fenton, and don't worry, we'll do." Superman then shook hands with Damon, who simply nodded at him, yet his face expressed his thoughts perfectly… _'Please, protect my daughter'_.

"Good to see you too," Superman addressed Jazz, Tucker and Sam, who finally greeted him as well. Then, after a last kiss and hug from their respective parents, and a last good-bye from their friends, Danny and Valerie walked out of the house, finding a large metallic chest waiting for them.

"I brought this for your luggage," Superman told them, "that way I can transport it, and we'll be able to travel faster."

"Well, in that case… I'm Going Ghost!" Danny morphed into his Phantom persona, and then gave Val a knowing look.

"How about this one… Ready to Hunt!" Valerie said as her outfit, as always, seemed to appear from nowhere and covered her entirely in a couple of seconds.

Danny lifted an eyebrow at her.

"I know, the battle-cry needs work." Valerie shrugged, and then activated her techno-sled. "Want a ride, Ghost?"

Danny smiled and jumped at the back of the sled, with his arms around Valerie's shoulders; they gave each other a wide smile, which made Superman to chuckle a little. Of course, Valerie's sled could reach escape speed in a few seconds, being way faster than Danny's flight, so it was the best option to follow Superman, even if obviously wouldn't use his top speed for this little trip.

The Kryptonian carried with the chest and, a few seconds later, the three of them were flying around Fenton Works, waving good-bye to everyone, who now were at the windows to give them a last look; a moment later, they dashed away, heading to Metropolis.

Unknown to the group, someone else was looking at them, and getting an evil smile.

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Tucker and Sam decided to stay at Fenton Works, just like Damon, waiting for Danny and Valerie to call them when arriving, which happened barely fifteen minutes later. Then, they stayed at the place for the rest of the day, Damon chatting with Jack and Maddie, and the teens hanging around with Jazz at her room.

"I just thought about something." Tucker rubbed his chin, "We have the best ghost hunters many miles away; what if we need them?"

"Well, you saw how fast they arrived to Metropolis, Tucker," Jazz pointed, "surely they'll return just as quickly if we need them."

"Good point." Sam nodded, and then stretched her arms, "but I still hope nothing bad happens."

"Something like this?"

The teens turned at the window, and gasped a split second before getting captured by one of Skulker's nets. The hunter then carried them out of the house, the same moment the Fentons' ghost alarms detected his presence.

"Hey, what's your problem, you brute?" Sam snapped at the ghost, who simply grinned evilly in response.

"Freeze, specter!" Jack growled as he and Maddie dashed out from the house, aiming at Skulker with their blasters, Damon right behind them.

"Attack, Shadow!"

The ghost hunters were taken back by a powerful hit courtesy of a large dark figure attacking from aside them. Jazz wide opened their eyes when recognizing Johnny 13, riding his motorcycle with Kitty hugging him from behind, both of them the other side of the street.

"Remember me, Jazz?" Johnny grinned at the red-haired girl, which made Kitty to frown yet did nothing to him.

"What the… it's a ghost convention, or what?" Tucker exclaimed.

"You can say that, my dear boy." Penelope Spectra appeared from behind Skulker, and then gave Damon and the Fentons a predatory look, "Want to stay, my friends?"

Before Damon or the hunters could do a thing, a large green octopus phased through the ground behind them, and trapped them in his tentacles.

"Nice job, Bertrand." Spectra congratulated his assistant, and then got a huge grin as a red glow covered her body, "Ah, fear, desperation, confusion… what a lovely emotions' feast!"

"Here is the part where you fools tell us your evil plan, isn't it?" Sam growled.

"Sorry, Technus didn't come with us." Skulker's comment made the other ghosts to laugh evilly.

"But this time I see no harm on doing it." Spectra cleared her throat, "We know the little ghost boy isn't home, and the girlfriend is gone as well, so decided to have some fun. I mean, no ghost boy to stop me from getting some emotional charge…"

"Or us from creating some little mayhem." Kitty added as Johnny and Shadow smiled widely.

"And, the moment he knows we got you, I'll have a trap ready for him and the huntress, and finally catch them for good!" Skulker finished.

"Uh, nice plan, but you guys know he is now with the Justice League, right?" Jazz arched an eyebrow at the hunter.

"Oh, please, they are no big deal!" Johnny chuckled, "Sure, they can fight human criminals, but how good are them catching ghosts?"

"We're about to find out!"

WHOOSH!

A fast red and blue blur snatched the net from Skulker's hands. The ghost turned to see a tall raven-haired woman, dressed on body armor resembling a red, golden and blue bikini with white stars, wearing a golden tiara and a lasso hanging from her left side, and silver bracelets, landing softly and ripping the net effortlessly.

"W-W-W-Wonder Woman?" Tucker got stunned at the sight of the gorgeous Amazon while Jazz and Sam got impressed faces.

"Now, you release the rest of your prisoners, and leave, or get ready to face the consequences." Diana, also known as Wonder Woman, said to the ghosts in a soft yet authoritarian tone.

"Forget it, lady! There is no way can handle all of us at the same time on your own!" Spectra roared as changing to her real shadowy form.

"Maybe… but I'm not alone." WW gave them a knowing smirk as two other figures dived from the sky; an Afro-American man dressed in green and black outfit, and a red-haired winged woman wearing a yellow exercising outfit and holding a large mace.

"Get them!" Spectra commanded the other ghosts as charging against Hawkgirl, who avoided the initial attack as Green Lantern focused on Johnny and Kitty.

"I'll get you, woman!" Skulker aimed at Diana with his arms' blasters, and started shooting at her.

PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG! PTANG!

"IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Skulker roared in surprise as the Amazon deflected every single blast with her bracelets while advancing against him.

"Stop everyone, or I'm destroying them!" Bertrand, still in octopus form, yelled to the heroes while tightening his grip on the adult humans. At that moment, an imposing green figure phased through the ground, and, when turning solid, delivered a powerful hit at the ghost, making him to release his prey.

"Johnny, do something!" Kitty yelled in rage and fear as Green Lantern charged against them.

"Shadow, defend us!" Johnny commanded and the dark creature charged against Green Lantern, yet its claws couldn't pass the energy shield the hero formed around him.

"Against the darkest night," GL said as preparing his attack, "the brightest light!"

YEEEARGH!

Shadow received a full blast from the hero's power ring, disappearing a second later. Johnny and Kitty gasped and tried to escape on the motorcycle, but were stopped by a green wall appearing in front of them.

BOOOM!

The ghosts were now barely conscious, and were about to phase through the ground to escape when a powerful yet familiar sucking energy caught them, but, unlike other times, this was green; Green Lantern, having seen the Fenton Thermos in action thanks to a video Danny gave to the League, created one with his ring, trapping Johnny and Kitty without any problem.

"You're a fraud, alien!" Spectra said in her usual manipulating tone while still trying to hit Hawkgirl, "A spy who is rejected by her own race! Someone who don't deserve to be called a hero!"

"Tell me something I don't know." Hawkgirl, unlike most of Penelope's victims, was unaffected by her manipulations, and instead focused on the enemy's moves, waiting for an opening. The winged woman then lifted her mace, aiming at the ghost's head.

"You ignorant! Regular weapons can't harm ghosts!"

WHACK!

Spectra fell to the ground, totally knocked out, as Hawkgirl grinned slightly.

"Thanagarian weaponry, lady; made to beat both flesh and bone and magical or intangible creatures."

Bertrand growled and morphed into a huge bee to attack the green man who dared hitting him. However, when about to sting him, the man turned intangible, so the ghost missed its target.

"WHAT? PHASING IS A GHOST THING; HOW CAN YOU DO IT?"

"It's also a Martian thing," the hero replied, "just like shape-shifting."

Before Bertrand could do a thing, his enemy morphed into a huge Chinese dragon that charged against him. A few seconds later, the bee was morphing back into a defeated ghost, and the dragon morphed into J'onn, The Martian Manhunter.

"You had enough?" Diana said to Skulker after he shot a last blast, now right in front of the ghost.

"Yes… but enough of you, woman!" The ghost threw a punch against Diana, who caught it without even blinking. Skulker tried to hit with his other fist, but the woman caught it as well; the hunter struggled to try escaping her grip, yet it was useless, and he was way too proud to phase, thinking it would be admitting a woman was stronger than him.

"If you want to leave, let me help you." Diana threw a powerful kick against the ghost.

CRASH!

Skulker's armless body impacted a nearby wall, denting it, and fell to the ground. Wonder Woman dropped the mechanical arms, and then threw her lasso to catch the ghost before he could turn intangible.

"Are you okay?" J'onn asked the teens, Damon and the Fentons, who barely moved during the whole battle, impressed at the heroes' display.

"Yes… of course, we are! Wow! That was amazing!" Jack said, back to his usual cheerful self.

"Amazing… wonderful… beautiful…" Tucker stared at Wonder Woman, still mesmerized by the Amazon's looks.

"How did you guys arrive here so fast?" Jazz got her voice back as Green Lantern used his energy-made Thermos to collect the rest of the ghosts.

"We got teleported from the Watchtower." Hawkgirl pointed up in the sky, with a playful smirk. "You didn't think we would take away your city's hero and leave all of you unprotected, right?"

"The thought crossed our minds." Sam said as folding her arms and chuckling slightly; she then gave Tucker a fast look, and turned at Diana. "Uh… Miss Wonder Woman…"

"You can call me Diana." The Amazon replied in a kind tone; granted with beauty of body and soul by Aphrodite herself, it was easy for Sam to see why Tucker was so impressed.

"Okay… Diana… uh… can you and Hawkgirl give me an autograph each… and one for my friend here?" Sam pointed at Tucker, "I know for sure that, once he reacts, would never forgive me if not asking for it."

"You can't do this to me!" Skulker, the last ghost waiting to be sucked by the Thermos and still held captive by the lasso, growled at the heroes, "I'm the greatest hunter of… of… no, I'm a fraud!" The ghost yelled, surprising everyone but Diana.

"I'm just a little guy using a huge mechanical suit; without it, I look like a demented frog! When alive, always wanted to be feared and respected, but was a coward, so when turning into a ghost decided to focus on being someone bigger and stronger! But I'm a loser, even if some ghosts see me as a natural leader, deep inside I'm always fearing they'll see me for what I am! That ghost kid always beats me; I envy him and his courage! I still sleep with a teddy bear… his name is Mister Fuzzy! I was dating Ember but she changed me for that werewolf; she said he was bigger and better than me in every aspect! And when alive I served tea at old ladies' meetings!"

"Diana's lasso," Hawkgirl finally said when realizing what was happening, getting a knowing smile and looking at Sam and Jazz, "No matter how much you try resisting it makes you say the truth."

"Never considered using it in a senator or something?" Sam got her mischievous look as Skulker's rambling continued.

"I wore diapers until age 6!"

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At the JL's embassy, Danny and Valerie finished the tour, and were impressed, to say the least. It was enough that their guide was no other than The Flash, but the place was amazing; basically, a little city with a relaxing area (pool included), cafeteria, dorms, and top technology used on training facilities, monitor duty, aircrafts and teleporters; dreaming with being an astronaut someday, Danny couldn't hide his excitement when Flash showed them the League's trademark spaceships, the Javelins, especially when the speedster said they would be taking some flying lessons if good enough in the simulators.

"So, what do you guys think of the place? Pretty cool, isn't it?" The Flash asked the teens while the three were at the cafeteria, carrying their trays.

"_Cool _doesn't even close to describe it!" Valerie, using her Red Huntress' outfit, exclaimed; of course, since she was about to eat, her cowl was down.

"Tell me about it! I mean, we are surrounded by some of the world's greatest heroes… and talking to one right now!" Danny said to Flash, who chuckled slightly.

"I know this can be a little overwhelming. I was the same when getting my powers; younger than you two, and already running around in tights fighting bad guys. And it can take a while to get used to eat at a place where the chair can be a teammate."

Valerie and Danny gave him a confused look; the elder hero then pointed at a nearby table, where a green-haired gorgeous woman was about to sit down at a red and flesh colored chair. She was about to do it when her companion, a white-haired girl, noticed something about the seat, and said it to her. The green-haired female's right hand got covered by a green flame, and attempted to touch the chair; a second later, it jumped at its own as changing into a red-outfitted man wearing goggles, who immediately gave the women a sheepish smile.

"That's Plas for you; he is a cool guy, and pretty funny at parties, but wouldn't trust him with a pretty woman around; good thing Bea hadn't been moody lately. To think I was just like that when starting!" Flash chuckled as he and his companions finally sat down.

"After seeing that, how can anyone expect us to cool down and relax?" Valerie said, still impressed at Plastic Man's stunt.

"Simple; you saw a leaguer being human." Flash shrugged, "You guys must remember that, just like you two, there's always a human being under the tights… or a humanoid alien, or creature, or whatever. The point is, we have qualities and defects, just like everyone else; so, you can relax and turn human if you want, unless can also eat in ghostly form." The speedster said to Danny; the boy relaxed a lot, and followed his advice, changing into human; the thought of a hero doing something Tucker would imitate if having the same abilities was funny and familiar enough.

"Good; now, after dinner, I'll show you your rooms." Flash said before eating a spoonful of smashed potatoes; when Danny and Valerie arrived, he took their baggage to the rooms, returning two seconds later, so they hadn't seen them yet, "You, Valerie, will be at room 4-E, right in front of Fire and next to Black Canary, or Beatriz and Dinah; don't worry, they're used to be called after their real names. And Danny, you'll be at room 5-A, in front of Vigilante and next to Ollie's… that's Green Arrow."

As Flash explained to the teens during the visit, every leaguer had a room either at the embassy or at the Watchtower, even those with a house of their own, so could be comfortable when spending more than one day at work.

"So, what're we going to do tomorrow?" Valerie asked.

"Well, you guys will get your first class before breakfast, at 6 o' clock. One recommendation; don't be late."

"That's not something I'm good at." Danny rolled his eyes, and then got a little chill when feeling a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Then start getting good, kid; I'm not going to baby-sit you two."

Valerie and Danny wide opened their eyes when looking at the man talking to them; he was using a totally black body suit, without any distinctive symbols, plus using what seemed to be clawed gloves; his cowl was down, revealing a gray-haired, tough looking old man yet his suit revealed still conserved a well built body.

"Don't worry, Ted, they'll be on time." Flash grinned at the man, who simply nodded at him and the teens and then left to eat his lunch.

"Better rest well today, guys," Flash whispered to Danny and Valerie, "Ted Grant is a great teacher, but not exactly an easy to please one."

Danny nodded and started eating immediately, but Valerie froze for a few seconds before doing the same. Being a fighter even before getting her hunting gear, she immediately recognized that name; a wide smile appeared on the girl's face as tasting her chicken salad.

It's not every day you are getting trained by former heavy-weight champion Ted "The Wildcat" Grant.


	2. Meeting The Mentors

**  
**

**- Meeting the Mentors.**

"Come on, kid, you can do it better than that!"

Danny took a deep breath, and despite his muscles being on fire, kept running on the treadmill, with Ted next to him. He had been doing lots of different exercises during the last two hours, and the boy was pretty close to his limits; only Wildcat's tough voice pressing him prevented Danny from collapsing.

The elder hero stopped watching Danny, directing his attention to the persons sparring at the mat just a few feet away from them.

WHACK!

"Want to stop, Valerie?" A blonde woman dressed on a totally black outfit, consisting in some sort of bathing suit, fishnets tights, and boots, said to Val, who was currently down, wearing a white protective suit, and rubbing her jaw.

"No… I still have a few kicks left." Valerie stood up, her usual determined face unchanged.

"Good; one last exchange, and we're done for the day." Dinah Lance, the heroine known as Black Canary, got back her fighting stance. Valerie did the same, and charged against her opponent.

Valerie threw a fast kick against Dinah's legs that was avoided by a fast jumping; still in the air, the blonde replied with a kick of her own, that got blocked by the girl. Valerie then attacked Dinah with a fast series of punches and chops, trying to find an opening, yet the blonde blocked or dodged practically all the attacks. Then, in a sudden move, Dinah grabbed Valerie's wrist, and made a judo toss on her, sending the girl down; Valerie rolled when falling, so was back on her feet a moment later, but couldn't attack because of a sharp kick at her belly that made her fall on her butt.

"I think that's enough for now, Dinah." Ted directed to her pupil, and then turned at Danny, "Same for you, kid; not bad for your first day."

Dinah offered a hand to Valerie, who smiled at her and accepted the help to stand up, while Danny sighed in relief as Ted turned off the treadmill.

"You have a lot of potential, Valerie; even with the suit's protection, there aren't many people who can stand as much as you did."

"Thanks, Miss Canary… I mean, Dinah; it was an honor." Valerie, despite being obviously tired and a little pained, kept her smile, and she and the blonde bowed ceremoniously in front of each other.

When starting the training session, Ted made a fast evaluation of both teens, realizing about their different capacities. Even if Danny was quite powerful in his ghostly form, his regular human self wasn't exactly a fighter; he barely was a half-decent athlete; Valerie, on the other hand, was stronger and more skilled than most of Ted's pupils when started their training under him. Because of that, the former boxer decided quickly on the best routine for them; since Valerie would only be at the embassy for a couple of weeks, her training would consist mainly on learning advanced fighting techniques, while Danny's would be focused on improving his general condition, and then learning basic defense moves.

"Okay, you two, go to the showers, and then breakfast," Ted instructed the teens, "Valerie, you will return here with me at noon, while you, Daniel, will go to the battle simulator to practice with your powers; hopefully, at the end of this month, the training you do as a full human will enhance your capacities as a half-ghost."

"I hope so, Mister Grant… and thanks." Danny replied with a little smile, getting a nod in reply. As Flash said, even if Ted was quite demanding, he was also a good teacher, and seemed to have an instinctive knowledge of his pupils' capacities despite barely knowing them.

Danny and Valerie exited the gym, heading to the showers while waving bye to both Ted and Dinah. The moment the teens were out of the leaguers' sight, Val turned back and looked around them.

"Nobody is watching us?" Danny said to her as taking a look himself.

"I don't think so."

"Good… let's do it." Danny and Val immediately lost their pose, and started groaning in pain.

"God, I'm feeling aches in muscles didn't know I had!" Danny rubbed his back.

"At least you weren't a punching bag." Valerie leaned while grabbing her sides. The girl then supported her back on a nearby wall while Danny rubbed his legs.

"I don't know how we'll resist this every day." Danny sighed, looking a little down; the pain he was now feeling made him doubt about his capacity to stand the training.

Valerie noticed Danny's mood, and got a little smile as placing a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. Danny turned at her, and received a good kiss at the lips he immediately replied; they broke it a few seconds later.

"That might help." Danny smiled widely as Valerie chuckled.

"Come on, Casanova, I'm starving… and need your help to reach the dressing rooms." Valerie used Danny's body for support, making him to feel a little pain yet also a good amount of comfort.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same."

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BLAST!

Danny took down a large humanoid robot, and turned in time to blast a second one. The boy then noticed several robots flying over him, aiming at the halfa with large blasters; Danny phased through the floor to avoid a series of shots.

The robots started looking around for their prey that turned visible over them, and started blasting them. Danny defeated two robots this way, but the rest of his enemies shot back in reply, him barely having time to create a shield for protection. The robots then charged at him, and Danny dropped down the shield to attack with a powerful gelid ray, freezing several enemies and giving him time to avoid the rest.

A new robot entered the battle, way bigger and meaner-looking than the others. Danny barely avoided a large blast from it, and when shooting back, his own rays hardly dented the machine. Danny turned intangible to avoid an attack from behind, and then had an idea; the ghost boy flew at top speed, charging against the large robot with all the other ones aiming at him. Phantom phased through the robot's shell, and, according to their programming, the other machines started shooting at the large one; this also made said robot to activate its own protection program, and shooting back at the little ones. A few moments later, the huge robot had taken down the rest of them, and, suddenly, in a perfect cue, Danny phased out from it, holding several wires and components; the robot shook violently, and then turned off.

"A very impressive job, Daniel."

Danny took a deep breath and looked up, spotting the battle simulator's control room. Behind the heavily shielded glass, an Afro-American man with a 'T' shaped mask, wearing a jacket with the words _Fair Play, _was at the controls, with J'onn next to him.

"I thought you would need some mentoring to use phasing at full capacity, but it seems already have that dominated." J'onn told Danny through the room's speakers.

"Thanks a lot, Mister J'onn… Terrific." Danny addressed both adults, and then phased through the room's walls to go with them, as they already told him to do when finishing the practice, allowing a maintenance crew to enter the place and clean up the destroyed machines.

"Hope you guys hadn't spent too much time and money on those robots." Danny said to them, half-joking, half-nervous.

"Don't worry, Daniel; most of the robots we use in these sessions are weapons we collect from defeated villains' lairs. The only one we really built was the largest one; Doctor Magnus gives us a special prize for them." Mister Terrific replied good naturally as sending a few commands to the computer; from what he had heard, Danny knew the man in front of him was smart enough to impress Einstein himself.

"There's another leaguer using the room now; better take a look so you can see how he fights, since might do some field practice together." J'onn informed Danny as motioning him to get a look at the room, now fully operational and ready for next combat.

"Thanks, I will." Danny replied, a little bit nervous yet also incredibly excited about standing next to an alien; sure, Superman was one as well, and had met a few others since meeting him, but most looked pretty close to regular human beings, so J'onn impressed him greatly. Having telepathy as one of his powers, J'onn sensed Danny's thoughts, and, unnoticed to the boy, got a little smile while turning to see next fighter.

Danny got surprised when spotting a brunette boy, about a couple of years younger than him, wearing a red sweater and blue jeans, entering the room. The boy looked up at the control room, and waved hello at Danny.

"Good job with your session, Danny; I'd like us to chat later." The boy said in a very friendly tone. Danny waved in reply, getting a slightly puzzled expression.

"Uh… sure, I'll like that… uh…"

"Billy. Billy Batson." The boy replied, and then directed to Mister Terrific. "So, next robots, we took them from Luthor or The Brotherhood of Evil?"

"No, from one friend of yours; Sivana," Terrific replied as pressing a button on the keyboard that opened a large gate, allowing several robots to get in, much tougher-looking than those Danny fought.

"Yep, he never disappoints me," Billy got a more serious tone, and then closed his eyes as mentioning a single word.

"SHAZAM!"

KRAKOOM!

Danny got a surprised look at the lightning that appear from nowhere, striking Billy, and an even more surprised one when looking at the figure standing instead of the boy; he was a huge, muscular man, dressed in a red outfit with a short white cape, and a large yellow lightning symbol on his chest. Danny shook his head, and gave full attention to the hero smashing robots as if they were simple soda cans.

"And I thought my battle-cry was good."

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Ted, now using his disguise's cowl resembling a feline face, blocked a punch from Valerie. The girl threw another one that got blocked as well, and then tried kicking him, but the man avoided it by moving back at the last moment.

"Not bad, kid; one bit of advice here; when hitting someone, try to keep your own guard up as much as possible; during this session, I counted at least 15 times when exposed totally to an attack. If I were an enemy, and being fast enough, you would be badly injured by now." Ted said as making a signal to Val, indicating the match was over.

"Yes, I have a tendency of hitting before thinking… just ask Danny." Valerie said as taking a deep breath; she was also happy this was just a training session because, otherwise, Wildcat would snap her in half without breaking a sweat.

"Can I borrow your pupil for a while, Ted?"

Valerie and Wildcat turned to see the man approaching the mat. He was totally covered by a bright metallic armor, with a red cape and a stylized 'S' on his chest, and holding a large hammer.

"She's all yours, Irons. See you tomorrow, kid." Ted said to Valerie as they both touched fists, him leaving a moment later after waving bye to the other hero.

"Irons? I thought your name was Steel," Valerie said to the armored man after Wildcat left.

"Well, 'Irons' is my surname," Steel smiled slightly, and then motioned Val to sit at one of the gym's benches. "Valerie, you surely know about the analysis we had been doing on your outfit."

"Yes; Danny says it was designed and created by a technology-crazed ghost so I could be powerful enough to hunt him down," Valerie got a little remorseful look, yet recovered immediately, "Anyway, I have no idea how always appears whenever needing it, or where all those new weapons or the sled come from. Danny's parents made some analysis as well, and said my health wasn't endangered, but didn't tell me anything definitive."

"Well, they sent us a copy of their research, and several leaguers with scientific and technological skills had been checking it. Basically, we found out that your suit is produced from the inside out; this ghost basically deposited some nanobots at your blood stream. The bots are totally controlled, so there's no danger on you, and most of the time they're dormant since they're linked to your sentient thoughts, which explains why, when unconscious, your suit disappears, or, more precisely, retreats back into your body. They activate when receiving a signal by nervous impulses and adrenaline stimulation, they travel through your skin's pores and form the suit from air molecules and dead epidermis, and the same goes for the weapons and the sled. The bots gets energy partially from your diet, and also from external sources like static electricity and sunlight."

"Hold it! You mean that, literally, I had been using my skin for dressing?" Valerie wide opened her eyes in realization. "I don't know if that's cool or disgusting."

"Probably both," Steel said as placing a hand over the girl's shoulder, "Anyway, if you feel uncomfortable about it, we can extract every single nanobot from your body."

Valerie thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head.

"Thanks, Steel, but no; I like using my karate training for good, and ghost hunting is pretty exciting plus giving a community service that's particularly important at Amity. Besides, I like the idea of giving Danny a hand once in a while."

"In that case, we'll better start working on improving your gear; luckily, you have the best expert on nanotechnology right here."

"Is that you?" Valerie pointed at the man, who shook his head and chuckled slightly.

"That would be me, Miss Gray."

Valerie looked down, gasping when spotting a human being, barely the size of a mouse, standing next to her foot. The man, wearing a blue and red outfit, cowl included, with a rotating atom symbol on his chest, started growing in front of the stunned girl, until getting a more natural size.

"Professor Ray Palmer, at your service, but just call me Ray."

Valerie finally reacted and shook the hand of The Atom.


	3. Field Training

**- Field Training.**

**Fawcett City.**

Five days later.

RIIIIIIIING!

"Turn off that alarm… it's getting on my nerves!" A man wearing an outfit that resembled the king of a poker's deck said to the woman next to him, dressed as a queen.

"Yes, I know what you mean." The woman made a fast hand move, and, a second later, an electromagnetic pulse short-fused the alarm and every computer at the bank they currently were, both criminals standing in front of a scared crew and some unconscious guards.

"Ten, Jack, are you done?" The King turned back to see a man with a similar poker-themed outfit taking all the money from the cashiers; oddly enough, his hands and arms stretched to an unnatural size to grab all the cash, and drop it inside a large bag.

"Just a moment, King; how about you, Ten?"

"I have it all." A large Afro-American, with a similar disguise, stepped out of the bank's vault, whose door was ripped, holding several bags.

"Good, let's get out of here before some fool in cape appears." King told his companions as they jumped on a large platform each, resembling the cards they were named after, and a moment later the cards levitated and transported the gang out the bank at high speed. The men were transporting several bags on each card, while the woman simply made a few others (filled up with coins) to fly behind her.

"This was almost too simple." Ten chuckled.

"Not anymore." The Royal Flush Gang turned up to see Captain Marvel charging against them.

"Hey, it's The Red Cheese!" Jack exclaimed.

"Make it the _grilled_ Red Cheese." King growled, and, a moment later, attacked the hero with a large flame.

"Holey moley!" CM exclaimed as covering, and the other criminals surrounded him. Queen made a hands movement to send the money bags against him, impacting the hero several times and distracting him from Ten's approaching him, delivering a hard blow against the hero, who flew back several feet yet recovered a moment later, and, to the villains' surprise, smiled.

"Time for some ground rules, don't you think, Danny?"

"Who's Dan… YEEEARGH!" Jack screamed in surprise when suddenly phasing through his card, falling almost ten stories; luckily, because of his elastic body, it wasn't exactly a very hard hit.

"Hey, what's going… UPS!"

"WHOA!"

"YIKES!"

In rapid succession, King, Queen and Ten got the same treatment, phasing through the cards. The female used her magnetic powers to make a few bags levitate under her and King, slowing down the fall, while Ten crashed the pavement.

"I had never played poker before," Danny finally made himself visible, hovering next to CM, "but guess we have the best hand."

"Call the cards, quick!" Jack said to King, who pressed a button on his belt to call their transportation devices. However, only Queen handled to get her card, since the other three got destroyed by Danny's rays, and some blast coming from ahead.

"Hey, are we late for the party?" Valerie, on her Red Huntress' outfit, directed to Danny, Steel flying next to her.

"Nope; everybody choose a partner!" CM said as diving, charging against Ten, the largest criminal, hitting him full force and sending the villain against a nearby wall. Danny and Steel did the same, going after Jack and Ten, respectively, while Valerie started chasing Queen.

"Don't know how you did that trick, kid, but you're paying for it!" Jack stretched his arms to punch Danny, but passed through the boy, who shot several blasts in reply; the villain avoided them by bending and stretching in several positions.

On the meantime, King threw several fire balls at Steel, who did his best to avoid them yet was hit a few times. Even if his armor was quite resistant, King's pyrokinesis was so powerful it could destroy a tank with ease, so the hero was resenting the hits.

"If you can't stand the heat, get out from the kitchen!" King chuckled, but stopped doing it when Steel lifted his hammer, and then smashed the pavement, sending a powerful shockwave, making King to lose balance and cut his attack, this being the chance Steel was waiting to move at high speed and punch the villain, knocking him out.

Up in the sky, Valerie was shooting several blasts at Queen, who had summoned several metallic objects to block them, but was running out of them with every attack. The villainess then got an evil smirk, and directed her hands at Valerie's direction.

"Mind if I use your toys, girl?"

Valerie struggled and tried to keep balance, feeling how Queen's power was affecting her suit and sled. However, a few seconds later, the villainess got surprised when a bright glow covered her enemy, protecting The Red Huntress from the magnetic control.

"Sorry, but I hate sharing my things." Val grinned as charging against the criminal, and a second light, more intense than the previous one, covered her hands.

"HIIIIYAH!"

CRASH!

Valerie karate-chopped the card, breaking it in half, and making Queen to fall; the criminal tried using her magnetism again, but Valerie surprised her with a cable shot from her sled. Originally thought to catch ghosts, it was perfectly isolated and extremely resistant, so Queen couldn't break free.

Danny and Jack were still stuck on their match, since the boy couldn't hit the villain with any attack, and the hero's intangibility protected him from Jack's attacks as well. Then, Danny got an idea, and, next time Jack tried to catch him, remained solid.

"Hah! Got you!" Jack beamed.

"Just like I planned," Danny replied as a blue glow covered his hands, and then sent a freezing wave through the criminal's body. A moment later, Jack was totally paralyzed and frozen in his stretching posture.

"Good job, Phantom," Steel commented as approaching Danny, carrying King, and then looked up at Valerie, "Three down, and one to go."

POW!

Ten punched Captain Marvel, stunning him, and then threw another attack against the hero's belly. CM resisted it, and replied with a hit of his own, sending Ten several feet back.

"Your gang is already defeated, Ten; there's no use on resisting now." The hero said, yet the criminal wasn't accepting the suggestion.

"Forget it, fool! I'm strong enough to beat you, and then finish your friends!" Ten growled as throwing a fist against CM's head. The hero caught it, and then the other one, starting a power-to-power struggle.

"If that's how you want it," the hero said through gritted teeth, and then released his enemy, catching the villain by surprise in a bear hug a moment later, Marvel lifting him up a little bit.

"SHAZAM!"

KRAKOOM!

The supernatural lightning that normally transformed Captain Marvel in his younger alter-ego found Ten on its way, hitting him, and being a lot more powerful than regular electricity, knocked out the villain almost immediately.

"Nice trick," Danny said to CM, impressed.

"Normally I reserve it for very strong opponents, or when needing to finish a fight faster than usual," Marvel replied, "I mean, fighting someone as mighty as him the regular way in a highly populated area can be pretty dangerous."

Danny nodded at him, and then looked back at Valerie, who was commenting Steel about the new extras he and Ray had been installing the last five days. From what Danny had been told, and seen in the League's training facilities, the suit now was far more resistant, and increased Valerie's stamina and strength almost tenfold, plus having more defensive systems, including one that prevented anyone else to remote control it, a welcomed feature if she ever had to face Technus. This battle was the first field test of the suit, and passed with flying colors.

About ten minutes after the battle ended, a special armored car and several patrols appeared on scene. Danny and Valerie helped the other heroes to place the villains inside the car, each criminal with a special power inhibitor on his/her neck (despite King and Ten still being unconscious) except Jack, who had to wait for another car to transport his frozen self.

"Well, I think this little battle was as good as your afternoon's training," Steel directed to both teens after the cars left, and a large crowd was forming around them, "so why don't you hang around at the city with Billy? Just return in time for dinner." Danny and Val accepted immediately.

The teens had a very tight yet interesting schedule at the embassy. Every day at six they had a training session with Wildcat and any good fighter available at the time; about two hours later, they had breakfast, and then Danny practiced at the simulators to learn piloting the Javelins, while Valerie went to work with Steel and The Atom on new features for the battle suit; at one, they had a light lunch and went to see other leaguers' training; at three, Danny could either do some training with his powers as well, or join Valerie in her second session with Ted, sometimes getting an extra lesson, like the previous day, when Vigilante and Green Arrow helped improve the teens' aim; at six or seven, they had dinner and called their families, and then had free time to hang around the place or rest at the relaxation facilities, going to sleep around ten or eleven.

During this first week, it became obvious that Superman had recommended that Danny and Val would spend time with the leaguers they could learn the most. Besides Steel, who was pretty much the girl's mentor when it came to using her battle suit, Valerie was developing a strong bond to both Ted and Dinah, while Danny, on the other hand, felt extremely comfortable working with Captain Marvel; knowing that there was another hero around his age possessing a huge power, and was using it for good, gave Danny a good role model.

"So, where do we change?" Valerie asked as she, Danny and CM flew away from the place.

"Well, we can do it next block, if Danny turns all of us invisible, and then land at an alley," CM commented. Danny nodded at him, and then, when both Val and CM were close enough, he extended his hands to them, so the trio became invisible a second later. They landed at the closest alley, and after getting a little look around, Marvel summoned the lightning.

KRAKOOM!

"A little noisy, don't you think?" Valerie said to Billy as getting a fast look around to be sure nobody had discovered them due to the light and sound produced by the transformation.

"Yes, can't avoid it." Billy shrugged as Danny changed back to normal as well.

"Okay, time to try another new trick." Valerie chuckled, and then deactivated her suit; however, instead of the exercising outfit she was wearing when leaving the embassy, she now was using a red cap, yellow top, and blue jeans.

"Like what you see?" Valerie smirked at the wide-open eyed Danny.

"And see what I like… I mean, yes, you look fine!" Danny blushed, making both Val and Billy to chuckle, "Really, Val, how you did it?"

"According to Ray, since nanobots are capable of forming a battle suit and assorted weaponry in a matter of seconds, it's also logical they can do the same with other things, so, if concentrating enough, can deliver them a mental order to give me any outfit I want." Valerie smiled as checking her clothes, "In other words, now I have two things Paulina will always envy; your affection, and instant wardrobe."

Danny laughed, and then gave Val a slight kiss on her cheek. The trio left the alley a moment later, and headed to a nearby fast food's place. Once they ordered and sat to eat, Danny and Val gave a fast look to the place, both with slightly anxious looks.

"Is anything wrong with the decoration?" Billy asked them.

"No… it's just that, well, this is the first time in months we are in a public place without everyone looking at us." Danny replied.

"Yes… and truth be said, I'm almost sure that, at any moment, someone will scream our names and assault us with questions or something." Valerie added.

"Guys, trust me, I doubt it will happen." Billy said in a calming tone. "I know it must be hard to have your identities exposed and all, but you're not at your city, and I doubt anyone is expecting to see the both of you eating in a place like this just a few minutes after beating a criminal gang."

"Guess you're right, but… sometimes I think we'll both become paranoid or something like that." Danny sighed, "Well, according to my sister, we already were before, but now it's a lot more."

"A little paranoia is normal in this kind of job, and normally is a good thing because keeps you alert and ready," Billy commented as grabbing a fry, "but keep in mind that you have a life when not fighting crime, disasters, or, in your case, ghosts. Best advice can give to you is expect the best, and be ready for the worst; it's a good way to avoid getting an ulcer."

Danny and Valerie chuckled and started eating; Billy had a point, they couldn't stop living a more or less regular life when off-duty. However, as smart and experienced Billy was, he had no idea of how it felt to be exposed; there was a reason to have secret identities, after all, protecting your loved ones and having a private life are very high in a superhero's priorities list.

Unknown to them, Billy was thinking among the same lines. Many people graded his superhero-self as a nice guy with Superman-like powers, and nothing more, ignoring about what the 'S' in 'Shazam' stood for; the legendary King Solomon's wisdom was present in Billy's super powered form and possessed a little bit of it as well in his regular one. He knew that his friends had good reasons to worry, so made a mental note to talk with other heroes with public identities that might help them in that issue.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danny, in his regular form, kissed Valerie's neck, the girl still using the same outfit her bots made that afternoon minus the cap, his arms around her shoulders, as they both sat at a large couch in the embassy's TV room. The girl supported her head at Danny's chest while watching the news, or, more precisely, watching themselves at the news.

"You look great on that new suit, you know?" Danny whispered at Val.

"It looks exactly like the previous one." Val chuckled slightly.

"Well, you look great with any suit." Danny replied, earning himself a little kiss at his cheek.

Across the room, playing billiard, Plastic Man and an Afro-American heroine in a brown jungle-themed outfit, Vixen, gave the teens a discreet look.

"Young love… gives you any ideas, Vixie?" Plas gave his companion a flirty look.

"Yes… drop all these balls through your throat if you continue with that." Vixen arched an eyebrow at Plas, who morphed his face into a Chesire Cat-like one, smiling nervously at her. At that moment, Superman entered the room, and, after greeting Vixen and Plas, directed to Danny and Val, who broke their embrace and got sheepish looks.

"Relax you two; I know you weren't doing anything wrong, and were your age once." Superman gave the teens a little grin, making them to relax, "Anyway, hate to interrupt, but want Danny to meet someone; I'll better tell you this can take a while."

Valerie and Danny gave each other an apologetic look, and nodded as he stood up, giving Val a little kiss.

"See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Ghost." Val smirked playfully at Danny, making him to shook his head and smile widely.

"By the way, before I forget to say this, you two did a very good job today," Superman said to both teens that got very proud looks; hearing that from their mentors was cool enough, but from Superman it was a whole new level.

Danny changed into his Phantom form, and he and Superman left the room. Without her boyfriend, Valerie became largely uninterested on the news, and changed the channel, chuckling when recognizing a movie and the scene on screen.

"_I see dead people."_

"Welcome to my world, kid," Valerie turned off the screen, and decided to watch Vixen and Plas' game.

"Care if I see?" Valerie asked the elder heroes as approaching the table.

"Sure, no problem," Vixen told her. Plas smiled at the girl, yet shook his head a moment later, reminding himself that she was both underage and taken.

"I really need to do something about my hormones." Plas thought out-loud, and then slapped himself, "Oh, you heard me, right?"

"How do you know?" Vixen glared at him.

"Because you are giving me the predatory face… and that's my cue to bounce out of here." Plas chuckled before changing into a large ball, and, as said, bounced out of the room.

"He's always like that? Even my friend Tucker isn't this girl-crazy, and he's a teenager!" Valerie commented to Vixen after the plastic hero left.

"Well, to be totally honest, Plas is a much better hero than people give him credit," Vixen admitted, "and is way more powerful you might suspect; if I really decided to hurt him, wouldn't do any permanent damage no matter what animal's skills I use. For the craziness, it comes with his powers; sure, he can be serious when needed, but his brain and senses were largely affected when getting them… apparently, seems he sees everything as if living inside a cartoon and reacts in consequence, and his body and mouth pretty much expresses immediately what he's thinking at the moment. First time he saw me his face looked like something from Tex Avery!"

Valerie laughed loudly, and when calming down, gave a look to the table, and than at Vixen.

"Since it seems I'm the reason yours playing partner left, care if taking his place? My dad taught me the game, and hadn't practiced in a while."

"Suit yourself, kid."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danny followed Superman to the embassy's rooftop, both eager and confused; those feelings turned into amazement when finding out who was waiting for them; a red-eyed totally white man, with huge feathered wings, golden armor, and several tattoo-like marks on his body, plus a sword hanging from his left hip.

"Danny, meet Zauriel; Zauriel, Danny," Superman made the proper introductions.

"Glad to meet you, Danny." Zauriel shook hands with Danny, who still couldn't say a word.

"Same here… uh… excuse me, but… the rumors…"

"Yes, they're truth. I'm an angel." Zauriel smiled at Danny, and, suddenly, the boy felt a strange yet comfortable peaceful feeling running through his body.

"I'm leaving now; you two have a lot to discuss." Superman said to his companions, who simply nodded and waved bye at him as the Kryptonian flew away.

"So… there's really a Heaven, and…?"

"Yes, there is," Zauriel said, conserving his friendly smile, "And you shouldn't be that surprised. After all, your powers come from the place in-between."

Danny got a shocked look. He had always considered The Ghost Zone as another dimension, a weird one, but nothing more… and now was finally getting in consideration the religious aspect of it, and it had lots of sense; after all, he fought with spirits of dead people!

"You mean The Ghost Zone is The Purgatory or something?"

"Exactly; how your parents found a way to contact and enter it still amazes me, as well as many other things you humans do with all that free will you have; of course, that dimension is among the few ones where science and magic can coexist, so it might explain how they did it." Zauriel walked to the rooftop's edge, and motioned Danny to sit next to him.

"First of all, sorry I hadn't talked with you first; you see, even if I asked to be turned mortal to help and protect humankind here on Earth, still have several heavenly traits, including the fact I don't sleep at all; because of that, don't need a bedroom at the embassy, and most of the time am in monitor duty at the Watchtower, or protecting Los Angeles, so it had been a while since coming here." Zauriel commented Danny, who simply nodded in reply, giving him full attention.

"Okay, now, to the point. As your parents probably have told you, the ghost is the ectoplasm manifestation of a deceased creature whose mental condition, for several reasons usually related to stressful situations, had made him or her unable to accept death, and therefore gets a pseudo-existence after the physical body is no longer capable of sustaining said creature, and, from a scientific point of view, they're right." Zauriel talked in a calmed yet somehow stimulating way, that, Danny thought, would be the envy of any of his teachers, "Now, from the metaphysical one, The Ghost Zone exists to accommodate those persons who aren't good enough to go right to Heaven, or were good persons yet left unfinished businesses and doesn't feel like leaving until solving them; the unfinished business thing also applies to obsessions that mean the world for that spirit and have a similar effect; the Ghost Zone is also the home of some elemental spirits, or manifestations of human feelings or concepts, like your enemy, The Fright Knight, as well as some that fulfill a mission on the higher plans, like Clockwork, who protects the continuity space-time."

"And how about the ghostly animals I had fought at times?"

"They usually are creatures that died by unnatural ways, like scientific experiments or fire weapons; the animals obviously couldn't understand how and why they were finished, therefore creating a confused state, and many times a revengeful one, that turns them into ghosts. Others, like that Cujo dog you once faced, have unfinished business as well, and, as you know, when solving said issue, they pass to the other side; and yes, most dogs go Heaven." Zauriel chuckled slightly at the last part, making Danny to do the same.

"Then, you mean that my enemies would go Heaven if solving their problems or getting rid of their obsessions?"

"Some of them, yes, they would; however, others had increased their evilness or committed more sins even after their demise, and surely, if being destroyed, wouldn't go Heaven. There are also some ghosts that actually enjoy their existence, and stay like that for many centuries until finally deciding to abandon the spectral state."

"I see… wait, you mean Pariah Dark wasn't that evil when dying and became like that after death?" Danny wide opened his eyes, starting to connect Zauriel's explanation with his own life.

"He's one exception to the rule; some especially evil ghosts are fugitives from you-know-where," Zauriel pointed down, and continued, "who, after gaining demonic powers or artifacts, like the crown and the ring that Pariah used, decided to return to the Human World, but, since there aren't many direct accesses, they have to go through the Ghost Zone first; this is another function of that dimension, to hold back some demons from returning to the physical realm. Once there, Pariah decided to use his powers to become The Ghosts King, and later extend his kingdom to other plans of existence, yet, thanks to The Presence, he was stopped twice, last one because of you."

"You're welcome… hold it! The Presence? You don't mean…" Danny pointed to the sky, stunned.

"Yes, that's how we angels refer to God," Zauriel explained, "since, as you surely had heard, is present everywhere."

"My parents would make an encyclopedia from this conversation." Danny calmed down, more impressed than ever; he had been chatting with a guy who had been in presence of The Almighty since Creation!

"Now, Danny, cool down; my intention wasn't confusing or scaring, but try helping you learn about your powers' origin, and the importance of your existence. Just like I'm the ambassador of Heaven on Earth, you're the Ghost Zone's one; if nothing more, our mere presence tells the people that there's something after their time on Earth is done. We remind them about their own mortality, the importance of their life choices, and that death isn't the end of the road. Think about The League; we face danger on a regular basis, and many leaguers had lost a loved one at some point of their lives… in some cases, many loved ones, or a full race; don't you think they get some comfort knowing that there's a place can join those who are no longer with them?"

Danny became silent; in the last minutes, Zauriel gave enough information to make the boy wonder about his whole life. Now Danny realized why Clockwork could be so secretive when mentoring or helping him; the boy needed to be mature enough to accept these truths about him self, and act in consequence.

"I think you now need to relax; how about teaching you a little bit about your powers? I've noticed exercise and physical activity in general makes wonders on most distressed humans." Zauriel stood up, and offered a hand to Danny. After a couple of seconds, Danny smiled at him, and accepted it.

"Now, here's another bit of information; the reason why the ghosts you fight are solid on the physical realm. You can thank the portals for that." Zauriel chuckled, "A portal is a direct access between dimensions, and allows ghosts to skip Limbo, the regular entrance door to The Purgatory; in there, body and soul are totally separated. However, with the portal, the ghost can conserve the pseudo-solid state he or she normally has at the Ghost Zone; ghosts that can travel between dimensions without the need of portals, like my friend Brand, need to go through limbo every time, and that negates the solidification effect." Zauriel took his sword, and, a second later, it got covered in intense flames.

"Whoa!" Danny wide-opened his eyes, and got a mischievous face, "One favor… can you say '_Now the circle is complete'_?"

"I prefer '_I'm your father'_, but that wouldn't fit here." Zauriel smiled, and then motioned Danny aside. The angel made a fast move with his sword, and, weirdly enough created a portal on mid air, a lot like those Wulf could make with his claws.

"After you," Zauriel offered Danny, who nodded and dived inside the portal, the angel following him a moment later. The portal then closed, both heroes now standing on one of the many floating rocks at the Ghost Zone.

"Besides the sword and the obvious flight thing, what other powers do you have?" Danny asked Zauriel as his sword's flames disappeared.

"My sword can break through any lock and hurt immaterial creatures," Zauriel explained as placing the sword back on its place, "plus I have a very fast healing, and a certain degree of super strength, not like Superman, but can lift a van without breaking a sweat. And we share a power as well." Zauriel motioned Danny aside, and looked at another floating rock. The angel took a deep breath.

SHRIIIEEEEEK…!

Danny gasped at the sight of the rock breaking apart because of Zauriel's sonic attack that reminded the boy an eagle cry.

"This is particularly helpful against demons, ghosts, and even other angels," Zauriel explained when turning at Danny, "but, since I'm mortal now, it's so intense my throat can't stand it for long, the same way your body energy gets drained when using The Ghostly Wail. However, thanks to practice, now I can use it more frequently, and know the exact moment to stop so my throat doesn't get hurt; I can help with your own sonic attack so you can also moderate the amount of energy it takes and don't become defenseless after using it."

"That… would be great! Thanks!" Danny exclaimed, excited.

"Good; now, we need a place to practice." Zauriel gave a look around, and then Danny's expression brightened.

"I know a good one, and, if it's fine with you, can also introduce you with someone." Danny offered; Zauriel nodded, and allowed the boy to guide him.

After a while, Danny stopped at a black door with his symbol on it. The boy knocked it eagerly, with Zauriel next to him.

"Coming!" A female voice was heard the other side of the door, "Okay, my alarm says you're not dangerous, but hope you have a good reason to wake me up…"

"Hi, Danielle," Danny smiled at the ghostly girl when she opened the door.

"Danny!" Danni hugged her 'brother' in excitement, without noticing Zauriel, "Jazz told me you wouldn't be back for a month or so!"

"Well, I'm still with the League; by the way," Danny broke the embrace and made Danni to turn back, "want to introduce you a friend."

On the next couple of minutes, Danny made the proper introduction, and his young clone assaulted Zauriel with a ton of questions; the angel wasn't bothered at all, and actually seemed to enjoy the attention; being a guardian angel, he was used to people telling him the most various stuff.

"Anyway, Zauriel is going to help me control my Ghostly Wail," Danny cut Danielle's interrogatory as politely as possible, "but need a place to practice."

"Hey, say no more! My lair is your lair." Danielle made a gracious bow and allowed her visitors to enter. It wasn't the first time Danny was at her lair; it looked a lot like a regular teenager's room, but the ceiling was a perfect imitation of the night sky, stars and all, and had a couple of extra doors, one leading to a playing area, and another to a practice one, where the girl could exercise on the use of her powers and have friendly competitions with her friends at the Ghost Zone. Even if now the girl spent a good amount of time at Amity, hanging around with Danny and his friends and family, she still resided at the Zone, partly because she liked in there and also to conserve her ectoplasmic integrity.

"So, guess you guys will need some targets to destroy, right?" Danielle asked her companions, who simply nodded in reply, "Good, now watch this little trick, bro; you might learn something."

Danielle closed her eyes and concentrated; a few moments later, the training area, that was basically a huge empty room, got filled with several different sized boulders.

"That's pretty cool, Danni!" The boy smiled at her.

"Thanks; now, check this." Danni shot a blast against a boulder, and, after blowing it apart, the rock rebuilt itself. "Clockwork says that my regenerative capacities had extended to my lair as well, so you two can break apart anything here and it will get back to normal a few seconds later. It also works with my playing area, and that's good; you wouldn't believe the mess Ember, Wulf, Dora, Sydney, Youngblood and I made there last time I organized a party."

"And you didn't invite me?" Danny folded his arms and gave her a fake glare.

"It was yesterday." The girl gave him a sheepish smile. Zauriel, who had been silent during the whole exchange, laughed loudly.

"And the other angels still don't get why I like hanging around with mortals, or half-mortals!"

The half-ghosts laughed as well, and, a moment later, Zauriel and Danny were breaking apart boulders at Danielle's practice room.


	4. Trainees' Day Out

**- Trainees' Day Out.**

**Central City.**

One week later.

"Everyone is ready?" Hidden in an alley, a man in a blue Eskimo-like suit, with the boots, gloves, and hood with some white, using blue goggles, contacted his companions through a hidden radio on them.

"Of course, matey!" A heavy Australian accent replied. On top of a building, another man using a blue trench coat and navy hat, and several boomerangs drawings on the outfit looked down the street.

"And I'm on position as well." A man in white protective fire-resistant suit, with security goggles as well, holding a weird-looking gun, replied as well. He was hidden on another alley, the other side of the street the first criminal was.

"Fine; just remember, let me attack first; we need Flash to think I'm alone so you two can surprise him." The villain known as Captain Cold said to his accomplices, Captain Boomerang and Heat Wave.

A few minutes later, an armored car, heavily protected, passed through the street; Cold left his position, and took out a gun. A moment later, he shot a freezing ray against the vehicle's tires, coveting them in ice and making it to crash. The guards, recognizing the villain, aimed at him with riffles.

"FREEZE!"

"No, I'm Cold; Freeze is in Gotham," the criminal smirked, and before the guards could react, threw several marbles at them; the little projectiles exploded a moment later, releasing a blizzard-like wind that knocked out the officers.

"Hope Flash appears soon," C. Boomerang said to him self, "I would hate seeing Lenny having all the fun."

"His real name is Lenny?" The villain turned, surprised, and threw a boomerang against the voice behind him. Danny turned intangible to avoid being hit, and then shot at the weapon to avoid the famous returning effect; the boomerang was an acid-filled one, so released a green vapor when destroyed.

"And what's your real name? Captain Kangaroo?" Danny turned back at the rogue, who immediately took out several little boomerangs and threw them against him. Danny protected by summoning his ghostly shield, yet resented the impacts since the weapons had explosives on them.

"What's that idiot doing?" HW, watching the explosions from his position, growled in annoyance, "He's supposed to use those against Flash when arriving!"

"So, I'm still your favorite, guys? I'm touched." The villain saw over his shoulder, finding Flash supported against the alley's wall.

"No, you're charred!" HW turned to shoot a powerful flaming attack from his gun, but Flash, instead of trying to avoid the fire, sent it back against the villain by creating a tornado-like wind with his hands. Heat Wave covered his face, receiving the flame's full impact; since his outfit was resistant, of course, he survived without a scratch, yet it gave Flash the split second he needed to dash against the criminal and hitting him a few dozen times, taking him out of the fight.

At the rooftop, Danny continued blasting all the projectiles CB was throwing against him, silently thanking Vigilante and Green Arrow's lessons. The boy then turned invisible, confusing the rogue.

"Where are you, kid? I have a boomerang for you right here!" The villain yelled while looking around.

"Actually, my parents already have one, and don't like it either."

POW!

Danny turned visible at the same time delivered a powerful punch at the villain's chin, knocking him out cold.

And, talking about Cold…

"Seems he's not coming; weird," the rogue thought out loud; "He normally arrives in…"

"I know… a flash!" The speedster gave the villain a mocking grin, situating himself the contrary corner, "That joke never gets old, don't you think?"

"This is what I think!" CC shot his icy beam against Flash, who avoided it, and then used his speed to escape another blast.

"Nope." Flash grinned as avoiding the shot, running in circles and jumping and ducking the next attacks.

BLAST!

"Almost!"

BLAST!

"You're getting close."

BLAST!

"Uh, that almost gave me cold feet!"

Despite his velocity, Cold was one of Flash's oldest and most experienced enemies, therefore knew the right way to shoot at him; instead of attacking the place Flash was standing, the rogue tried to deduce where he would move next, having a pretty close aim. Also, all his failing attacks were freezing the pavement, so Flash had to be extra-careful to avoid slipping.

"Come on, guys, do your thing!" Cold said through gritted teeth, trying to contact his allies.

"If you're waiting for back-up, sorry, Lenny," Flash said as dodging a blast that froze the hydrant behind him, "Rory couldn't stand the heat, and Digger is being handled by my own back-up."

"Your back-up?"

"That would be me, Bad Rumor Man," Cold tried to turn, but, surprisingly and ironically, couldn't do since his feet were caught on ice!

"What the…" The villain's speech was cut by Flash grabbing Cold's pistol, leaving him unarmed.

"Bad Rumor Man… nice witty banter, Danny." Flash grinned at the boy, who chuckled a little.

"I'm learning from an expert." Danny pointed at the speedster while Cold glared at them.

A few minutes later, after Flash used his vibrations to warm up the fallen officers, and doing his best to repair the property damage as much as he could, the villains were taken away. Danny expected Flash to tell him to leave, but, surprisingly, the speedster simply placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, and started walking away from the scene at a regular pace.

"Nice job, Flash!"

"You rock, man!"

"Hey, that's the ghost boy! He's cute!"

Flash smiled at the people around him, even giving high-fives to some of them, and motioned Danny to do the same.

"Relax, we already did the job. And I know a great place around here with the best sundaes." Flash told Phantom, who was surprised, to say the least; even if obviously getting a lot of attention, people were actually respecting the heroes' space, unlike the guys at Amity who barely allowed Danny a break when he turned into ghost-mode, and even as a full human it was hard.

"How you do that?" Danny asked the speedster, who had a good idea about what Danny was talking about.

"It's actually pretty simple, Danny; even if having a secret ID, I try hanging around with this outfit as much as possible, and spend time with the people. That way, they see you more as a human, and also learn that your presence isn't synonym of danger; take yourself, for example. You only go ghost when sensing a specter, or some other enemy, therefore when you change into Phantom everyone expects to witness a huge cool battle, and you doing amazing stuff. Try to enjoy your powers; you already have a lot of responsibility from them, and there's nothing wrong with using them for some little fun, like flying around, or something like that… oh, here it is!" Flash left the mentoring tone to adopt immediately his usual cheerful one when spotting a candy bar.

A few minutes later, Danny was in amazement as watching the speedster eating enough ice-cream to stuff a football team. As the hero already told Danny, he needed a huge caloric ingest every day to sustain his power, therefore was eating his 15th sundae while the ghost boy was just finishing the first one.

"You don't get brain-freeze or something?"

"No; my organism hyper-metabolizes every thing I eat a few seconds after doing it, so the temperature isn't a real problem," Flash replied as eating another sundae, "And you, how it feels to eat as a ghost?"

"Well, my body temperature is a few degrees below normal when in this form, so the ice-cream doesn't feel that cold… otherwise, it tastes good." Danny said as taking the last spoonful; even more than eating as a specter, the boy was amazed as how the people at the place weren't begging for an autograph, or trying to photograph him.

"After this, I'm going to show you a trick that Diana and I had been practicing; also want to take you somewhere else."

"Where?"

"You'll see; I'm just calling Val to meet us there."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"_How is the GPS working?"_

"Smoothly, Mister Irons!" Valerie said as flying at high speed on her sled, testing the new GPS on her suit, that would allow her to go anyplace in the world just by sending a signal to the outfit's computer and find the best route. She currently was heading to the place Flash and Danny told her; she would return home in a few days, and wanted nothing more than spending a few more time with her boyfriend.

"_Good; you're approaching the contact site. I'm cutting the communication; today's tests are over, so have some fun."_

"Alright! See you later!" Valerie smiled widely as entering Jump City's limits, lowering her speed and finally landing next to the road.

"Now, where are them?" Valerie thought out loud, and then, to answer her question, what seemed to be a dust cloud approached her at high speed.

"And… we're here!" Flash stopped immediately, while Danny, who was flying next to him, had to fight back the impulse, finally stopping a couple dozen feet ahead.

"Now… that's speed!" Danny said in amazement while Val shook her head.

"HOLD IT! You were flying next to him? The Flash? Fastest Man Alive?"

"Also known as The Scarlet Speedster," Flash chuckled, and then explained to Val, "About that, well, when running I create a momentum normally try to suppress so my speed doesn't drag everything behind me; however, Diana sometimes take advantage of that to run next to me, so instead of moving at Mach-3, her top speed, can equal me at Mach-5 or 7. Not everybody can do that, of course, since it takes a lot of strength and resistance to inertia, but Danny's ghostly body has enough endurance and is pretty light, so can use the trick as well."

"Yes, but still takes time to adjust," Danny shook his head to clear it; without super-fast reflexes, it was very hard to stand moving that fast.

"Let me help you with that," Valerie took down her cowl, and gave Danny a little kiss, making him feel a lot better a moment later.

"Okay, now, to what we came for," The elder hero said as placing his hands on the teens' shoulders, "I'm running at a slower pace now so you two can follow me."

Danny jumped at Valerie's sled, and they followed the speedster, who, as promised, was keeping himself at the same speed of a regular motorcycle. They finally stopped at a pizza place.

"You're still hungry?" Danny arched an eyebrow at Flash as he and Valerie landed; as the speedster already told them, both teens restrained from finding a place to change.

"Just a little bit; anyway, we're waiting for someone. They will arrive soon; on the mean time, I'm in the mood for a big one with everything." Flash motioned the teens to follow him inside the place, and then Danny and Val realized everyone around them, even if giving curious looks, weren't harassing the heroes.

"We're going to eat like this?" Valerie asked as pointing as her suit.

"Apparently, yes… and wait to see him eating." Danny pointed at Flash, who was now at the counter asking for his pizza. A few minutes later, the Italian goodness was gone.

"Even Tucker doesn't eat like that!" Valerie, who, like Danny, was just having a soda as waiting for the people that were supposedly coming, got a shocked expression.

"That's nothing; he ate dessert first." Danny pointed, and, at that moment, a monotonous female voice got the heroes' attention.

"I'm so going to tell your wife."

"Hey, Ravie, what's up?"

Flash stood up to greet the arriving trio while Danny and Val shook their heads. The newcomers were a girl about three yours older than the Amity's couple, her hair and eyes a bright purple (this last detail immediately reminded Danny of Sam) and her skin a light one, with a red jewel on her forehead, dressed with black tights and a blue cape and cowl; next to her, there was a boy a little younger than her, his skin, eyes, and hair on different shades of green, with elf-like ears and a little fang protruding from his lower jaw dressed on a black and purple jumpsuit; finally, behind them, there was a large Afro-American, apparently the oldest of the group, half of his body entirely made of robotic parts.

"Don't call me 'Ravie', understood? It's Raven, or Rae, and that last one only him can use it." Raven said in her usual tone yet smiled slightly at Flash while pointing at her green boyfriend.

"Yes, I have those privileges." Beast Boy said as passing a hand over Raven's shoulder and shaking hands with the speedster; finally, Flash and Cyborg high-fived.

"Talking about her, how is Jinx doing lately?"

"You mean, besides the lecture she gave me for that Linda reporter trying to flirt with me on national TV?" The speedster whispered to his friend, "Yes, she's okay; sometimes forgets about using the holographic ring, but keeps herself as lovely sarcastic and feisty as usual." Flash then moved next to Danny and Val to make the proper introductions; a few moments later, he was ordering another pizza, this one to go.

"Well, have to leave now, or Jinx will make me sleep at the doghouse." Flash smiled at the Titans, and then looked at Danny and Val, "You guys can return on your own, or call if needing a ride, okay? Just don't be late." Flash shook both teens' hands, and then dashed away with his pizza.

"He'll not drop it on his way?" Valerie said, still looking at the direction Flash left.

"With his speed, he might be arriving Central City right now without missing a single salami slice." Cyborg chuckled, "So, how are things with the Big Leagues?"

"Well, it's simply amazing, I mean, all of those heroes training and befriending us, seems too good to be truth." Danny replied, and then got a thoughtful expression, "I just realized something; why we got sent to the League instead of you guys?"

"Simple; we already have the hero training done," BB commented as giving a fast check up to the menu, "Robin, or Nightwing, as he calls himself these days, was mentored by The Dark Knight; Starfire is, literally, a warrior princess; Rae here got training on her powers' use since she was a baby; Cy is a genius, and has total mastery over his body; and yours truly, well, I was raised by The Doom Patrol."

"That's right; so, if we actually decide to join The League, any of us would be accepted, even if just as a reserve member," Cyborg commented, "but, well, we Titans are more than just a team; we literally are family, so wouldn't leave that easily. The Leaguers, on the other hand, can protect and live at their cities and just be able to attend when called."

"Good point; so… you guys don't have secret identities?" Valerie asked Raven, who nodded at her.

"When we first formed the group, the whole city was watching us, and none of us is exactly easy to miss," Raven explained, "so even the only one with a secret alter-ego had to drop it and be Robin 24/7. Sure, we now have holographic rings and other devices to hide our looks, but only use them when go other cities or do undercover job. Otherwise, almost everyone here is used to us going to the library, the arcade, the movies, the supermarket, or here at the pizzeria as ourselves."

"Then, if people get adapted to the secret identities, why most heroes have them on first place?" Danny asked.

"Well, almost all the heroes with public identities have their families either hidden or protected. As Cy said, we, The Titans, are family, so any of us can defend him or herself if attacked." Beast Boy explained.

"Then guess it's a good thing almost all our enemies are ghosts who already knew about our identities before getting exposed, and your parents being ghost hunters." Valerie commented Danny, who nodded at her. Even his friends at home and Valerie's dad had to carry with anti-ghosts weaponry, just in case.

"Well, enough chatting; I'm hungry, and the occasion calls for the extra-large Meat Lover!" Cyborg beamed, getting a little glare from Beast Boy.

"Oh, please! Why don't you try the Veggie one for once?"

"Because I like to eat real food, Grass Strain!"

The argument continued as Raven rolled her eyes, and then, suddenly, they turned red as the Goth snapped at her companions.

"WHY YOU TWO KEEP DOING THAT? Cyborg, you get your pizza, and BB, order your, and I'll eat from both!" The male Titans stopped immediately and gave Rae a sheepish grin.

"And, what would you guys like to order?" BB addressed Danny and Val, both silent and wide-open eyed, and then burst laughing.

"I said a joke?" BB scratched his head in confusion.

"I don't think so, because they're actually laughing." Raven replied as she and Cyborg gave the youngest heroes a similar look.

"Sorry… it's just that… this felt just like home!" Valerie said between chuckles as Danny explained.

"You see, our friend Samantha, or Sam, is a Goth, and, curiously enough, has purple eyes too," Danny looked at Raven, and then at Beast Boy, "plus also being an extreme vegetarian and animal lover; and our friend Tucker is an easy-going guy who loves pranks and jokes," he then turned at Cyborg, "almost as much as he does with technology and meat; he's the greatest geek and carnivore ever!"

The Titans got silent, and, a moment later, even Raven was laughing. When cooling down, they ordered their pizzas, a medium-sized Veggie, a large Meat Lover, and a regular pepperoni and mushrooms one. Valerie was about to bite her first slice when realization hit her.

"Wait… you said Robin was trained by… so, he isn't an urban legend?"

"That urban legend had kicked more bad guys' butts than any police station; maybe you hadn't seen him at the embassy yet, but that's because of the whole mysterious hero's stuff. He depends on the fear factor a lot to do his job, so in order to keep it isn't the most sociable guy around." Cyborg explained before starting with his pizza.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A while later, the five heroes were at the mall; as The Titans already had told Danny and Val, Nightwing and Starfire were on a date out of town, and, without villains to fight, the other heroes had the day-off. Since Cyborg was the only one dateless, he decided to hang around at the electronics shop while the couples were on their own; Raven and Beast Boy went to the library (since he started dating Raven, BB also started reading a lot more), and Valerie and Danny to a clothing store next to the electronics one.

"So, what do you think about this one?" Valerie asked Danny as modeling a red top and black shorts' combination, making him to smile widely.

"You look great on that," Danny chuckled, "And guys at school always complain about going shopping with their girlfriends."

"Well, those girls don't change their outfits in a snap." Valerie commented, and then her clothing changed into a yellow bathing suit. Because of her suit's new extras, she only needed to see the outfits wanted to try, and then imagine her self using them.

"Everyone, give me your money and jewelry, and nobody gets hurt!"

Danny and Valerie turned to see a guy on a green and white jumpsuit, including a green helmet that covered the upper part of his face, and a large red electronic eye on it, menacing the customers, who immediately started giving him what he wanted.

"Who's the cyclops?" Valerie asked her boyfriend as they hide behind a pile of pants.

"No idea." Danny said before his League's communicator started ringing, with Cyborg talking the other side of the line.

"_Hey, guys, the store you're in is getting robbed?"_

"Yes, how did you know?"

"_Because the same is happening all around the mall; a fool called Gizmo and his pal Numerous are here at the electronics shop; hadn't seen me because I'm hiding behind the TV sets."_

"Well, we have a one-eyed burglar here."

"_That's Seemore; guess the whole HIVE Five are here. Okay, listen; one of you can handle him and other can come here to help me with these clowns. Raven and Beast Boy can take care of the other two fools."_

"Okay; I'll get this one while you go help Cyborg." Danny whispered to Valerie, who gave him a little kiss before sneaking out of the store.

"And to think Jinx always said we couldn't do a thing without her." Seemore cackled as checking up the bag with his loot.

"That girl is a smart one." Seemore looked up at Danny, hovering in front of him.

"Oh, great, another do-gooder!" The villain growled as touching a button at the side of his helmet, shooting a laser-like beam from his eye, that Danny ducked in the nick of time.

Meanwhile, a red outfitted, dark shaded villain, Billy Numerous, and his clones were carrying several electronic appliances from the store, with a short, bald guy with a techno-pack, Gizmo, threatening the employees with a laser gun.

"Hurry up, Snoot-Face! We have to leave this place before the stinking Titans appear!"

"Too late, Shorty." Cyborg left his hiding place and charged against Gizmo and two clones next to him.

WHAM!

Gizmo and the two Billies flew out from the store, with Cyborg dashing out a moment later. The rest of the clones surrounded him, except one that helped the midget villain to stand up.

"Hey, what's your problem, Robot-Dude?" A Billy growled at Cyborg.

"Yes, don't you Titans take vacations or something?" Another clone added.

"I'll have a day-off after caging you two… or you twelve." Cyborg said after counting the clones surrounding him.

"Oh, yes? You and what air force?" A Billy chuckled.

"That would be me." Valerie, on her sled, charged against the clones, shooting and dispersing them.

"These Vomit-Brains are everywhere!" Gizmo groaned as activating his techno pack's bat wings, starting an aerial battle with Valerie.

On the meantime, the other side of the mall, a huge, hairy guy, Mammoth, struggled with a large green bear, while Raven attempted to catch a silent, dark, teleporting villain, Kid Wicked.

"I'm stronger than any bear!" Mammoth lifted the bear, ready to throw him away, but Beast Boy reacted by changing into an anaconda, trapping the villain's head, neck, and arms between his coils; however, Mammoth's strength forced BB's to his limits. Raven tried to help her boyfriend, but had to form a dark shield to protect from a sudden kick from her enemy; even if far more powerful than Kid, the villain could teleport really fast, avoiding her attacks and keeping Raven on the defensive.

At the clothing store, Phantom avoided another shot, and then turned invisible to surprise Seemore. The villain growled, and touched the button on his helmet again, smiling widely a moment later.

"Not bad, ghost fool, but I can see you even if invisible." The villain smirked, and then shot a plastic-like ball from his eye; Danny then turned visible, trapped inside it.

"Boy, this trap is a good one!" Danny used his ghostly rays on the ball, but it was so strong he couldn't break it.

"Yes; better go back to heroes' school." Seemore chuckled, but was short lived as Danny phased out from the ball.

"And you better go back to the optometrist." Danny's hands glowed with green energy, and then clapped them, creating a blinding light.

"AARGH! CAN'T SEE!" Seemore covered his eye in pain.

"Good for you; then you'll not see this." Phantom drew back his fist.

POW!

Mammoth released one arm from the snake's coils, and grabbed his head, ready to crush it; BB changed immediately into an electric eel, shocking the villain, but he still handled to throw the green hero away.

"What, that was too slippery for you?" Beast Boy turned back into human, landing graciously. He then noticed Raven was having problems with Kid, and, taking advantage Mammoth was still stunned, ran on her direction.

"Hey, Rae, mine is yours…"

"… and yours is mine." Raven smirked, and then carried a bench with her dark energy, throwing it against Mammoth, sending the villain against a nearby wall. Kid Wicked noticed Raven no longer was paying attention to him, and teleported behind her, ready to attack, but got surprised by a mighty gorilla fist that knocked him out.

"I'll need something bigger to knock that brute out too." Raven said to Beast Boy while pointing at Mammoth, who was slowly standing up.

"Two tons of aquatic muscle would do it?" Beast Boy grinned at her, making the Goth to get a sly smile.

"I'm so going to crush… uh, oh!" Mammoth wide opened his eyes in fear.

"AZARATH, METRION, ZINTHOS!"

CRASH!

A killer whale covered on black energy smashed Mammoth, taking him out of the fight.

"Hey, get down, all of you!" Cyborg threw apart ten of Billy's clones piling over him. The hero's robotic eye glowed, and then dashed at a particular Billy.

"Get him!" The Billy Cyborg was trying to hit cloned himself several more times, sending his copies against the hero, but Cyborg shot them apart with his cannon, reaching his target a moment later.

"Do you like my new eye scanner, Billy? Now I can always tell which one of you is the original one." Cyborg grabbed the villain by his collar, and then gave him a soft (for him) hit with his index finger, putting Billy to sleep and all the clones to get absorbed back to the original.

"Stay quiet, you Stench-Witch!" Gizmo shot at Val, who avoided it, and then flew over the villain, shooting back, but his experience on aerial battles helped him escape the attack.

"Please, I'm used to fight ghosts; you're no match." The Red Huntress said as trying to catch her opponent, but Gizmo avoided her with a fast dive.

"Ghosts don't exist, Bugs-For-Brains!"

"BOO!" Danny, making his best scary face, turned visible right in front of Gizmo.

"AAAH!" The villain screamed in surprise and fear, losing control, and ignoring Val approaching from behind.

BLAST!

"MY PACK! YEEARGH!" Gizmo, his pack damaged, fell down, stopping just a foot before impacting, thanks to Danny catching him.

"So, I scared you?" Danny asked Gizmo, who fainted a moment later.

"Hey, I made a villain to faint!" Danny said to Val, and then made a nauseating face, "Ugh! And think also made him get dirty."


	5. Super Missions

**- Super Missions.**

**Over Amity Park.**

Three days later.

"We're right over your city, guys!" Vixen said to both Danny and Valerie, who were sitting behind her at the Javelin.

"Thanks, Vixen; and thanks again for everything." Val said bye to Vixen, and then summoned her outfit and sled; Danny placed her stuff at a metal-like box she made the sled to form as well.

"See you in a couple of weeks." Danny and Valerie linked hands, and, after taking down her cowl, they kissed for almost a minute, smiling widely when breaking it.

"Take care, okay? And don't stare at Diana or any other lady, Ghost." Valerie smirked at her boyfriend, who chuckled slightly.

"I won't; half-ghost promise." Danny placed a hand on his heart, and then opened the ship's door. Valerie put on the cowl, and then flew out, heading to Amity after flying a few times around the Javelin and waving bye to Danny and Vixen.

"You really like her, uh?" Vixen smirked at Danny, who sat next to her.

"Yes; would you believe she used to hunt me?"

"Some relationships start even worse," Vixen chuckled, and then gave Danny a sly smile, "Want to fly back Metropolis?"

"Can I?" Danny beamed, and, when Vixen nodded at him, grabbed the controls immediately.

"Just keep this bird under Mach-3, okay?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Superman was on patrol when spotting something, or more precisely, someone, destroying S.T.A.R. Labs.

"If this doesn't attract Superman, nothing will do." A huge bald man, with a simian-like face and huge fangs protruding from his lower jaw, said as throwing around two security guards through one of the several holes he already had made on the building's walls. Another group of guards started shooting at him, but didn't even scratch the intruder.

"Where's that alien?" The intruder growled as smashing a computer.

"Looking for me, General Eiling?" The brute turned at one of the holes, with Superman hovering outside.

"Now I'm just The General, you alien… the last defense line against you and your super freaks' army, and the menace you represent!"

"I'm not the one destroying a government's lab."

"Sacrifices must be done when needed, alien… and if I have to be a monster and release some of them to protect this country from the ones like you, I'll do!" The General jumped at Superman, making the both of them to fall at the street, destroying a huge section of sidewalk. The Kryptonian kicked his enemy's legs, and then punched him, sending The General the other side of the street.

"What do you mean with releasing monsters?" Superman, remembering his enemy's previous statement, asked him.

"It meant us, Super Fool!"

**EEEEEEEKKKK!**

Superman got hit by a powerful sonic attack, and then by a green beam that smashed him against a nearby building. When looking up, the hero saw a woman in dark and white tights, long white hair, and what seemed to be a skull painted over her face; next to her, there was a large humanoid robot, with green glowing eyes.

"Silver Banshee and Metallo were held prisoners here, alien." The General smirked as walking next to the villains, "And they're not the only ones."

"It's lunch time!" Superman looked up, and dashed away just in time to avoid being touched by a purple humanoid creature, The Parasite. "I already touched some guards at the lab, but that was just a light snack compared with you, Superman!"

Superman got surrounded by the villains, trying to think about a way to beat them all; it was obvious they wouldn't give him the chance to call for help.

"Metallo, weaken him! Then the rest will finish the job!" The General ordered the metallic villain.

"That's the kind of order I like!" Metallo grinned, and then aimed at his enemy, shooting a large blast at him a moment later.

But it never connected its target; instead, got intercepted by a boy appearing from apparently nowhere.

"I'm so going to get a good tanning from this!" Danny smiled as checking his body that now was glowing on a slight green color.

"What kind of freak is that?" The General growled in annoyance.

"Metallo isn't the only one who gets powers from kryptonite," Superman smirked at Danny, and then both heroes got fighting stances as the elder one whispered to the boy who, luckily for Superman, no longer had the radioactive glowing on him.

"Metallo has kryptonite on its chest; don't let Parasite touch you; and Banshee has sonic attacks."

"And big, bad, and ugly?"

"Hit him with everything you have." Superman took a deep breath, and then attacked the villains with his hurricane breath, sending Parasite and Banshee several yards away, and forcing Metallo and The General to cover. Superman took the chance to hit The General at top speed, stunning him, while Danny charged against Metallo.

"I have more than kryptonite to attack you, kid!" Metallo threw a punch against Phantom, who turned intangible and dived inside the villain's robotic body, emerging a moment later with a large chunk of the radioactive metal.

"Why… you… I can't move…!" Metallo growled yet couldn't do anything else, being stuck on that position without the kryptonite to power up him.

"Hey, can you say "_Oil, oil, I need oil"_?" Danny smirked at the villain, and then an icy mist appeared from his mouth.

"My ghost sense?" Danny looked around, and saw Parasite trying to touch him; the hero turned intangible to avoid the attack, and then turned solid again to deliver a powerful double kick at the villain, making him to crash against a parked car.

"Okay… maybe I should limit to try touching Superman." Parasite rubbed his chest and neck in pain while Danny focused his attention on Silver Banshee, who was now growling at him, as his ghost sense got activated again.

"I'm sending you back to The Ghost Zone… a one-way ticket, boy!" Banshee took a deep breath.

"Two can play that game, Skully!" Danny took a deep breath as well.

**EEEEEEEEEEEK!**

"**Ghostly WAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIILLLL…!"**

The two sound attacks collided, producing a mighty shockwave that shattered every window ten blocks around. The power struggle lasted for almost a minute, until Danny, both kryptonite-powered, and with more resistance thanks to Ted and Zauriel's training, finally overwhelmed Banshee, knocking her out without turning back into human.

"And, since your powers seem to come from The Ghost Zone as well, maybe this will affect you." Danny turned visible his Thermos that he liked to keep invisible while strapped at his back, and aimed at Banshee with it, sucking her inside a moment later.

Superman, on the meantime, was struggling with The General; the hero made a fast tornado-like spin, throwing his enemy against a wall. Superman then noticed Parasite charging against him, and Metallo immobile, what gave him an idea; the hero dashed at super-speed to avoid the purple villain and grab Metallo's body.

"Care if using you for a moment?" Superman smirked at Metallo, and before the villain could complain, the hero used his enemy's body as a battering ram, knocking Parasite out. He then used the same technique against The General, hitting him several times at super-speed, until the villain could grab Metallo and throw him away before getting impacted again.

"Now, what can you do without your weapon, alien?" The General growled at Superman, who replied with a powerful heat vision's attack. Then, he moved behind the villain's back, and grabbed him in a wrestling move, flying up in the sky at top speed a moment later.

"I know what he's going to do." Danny said to the still immobile Metallo.

Superman returned earth, still holding The General, in a diving move.

**BOOOOOM!**

The General fell unconscious a moment later, inside the huge crater he and Superman made when smashing against the ground.

"I thought you were at Amity with Valerie." Superman grinned at Danny, who kept his distance since still was holding the kryptonite.

"Yes, but I piloted back; by the way, what's the speed limit for an apprentice?"

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"Foley, Manson!"

"This girl never learns or what?" Sam rolled her eyes while Tucker shook his head; they were heading to Valerie's house, where the Fentons were already, but a certain Latino girl intercepted them.

"What do you want, Paulina?" Sam growled at her.

"Oh, please, Manson, that's the way to talk to a fellow classmate?" Paulina got her best sugar-coated tone.

"In your case, yes; now, if you excuse us, Val returned today and we're going to visit her." Tucker said as he and Sam started walking again, with Paulina following them.

"Oh, that's very nice… and… when do Danny returns, uh?"

Sam sighed in annoyance; of course, thanks to TV News, everyone at Amity knew about Danny and Valerie fighting villains alongside The League, and Phantom's Number One Stalker had been bothering both his sister and best friends for information about him; obviously, Danny spending time with world's greatest heroes made the boy far more attractive to Paulina.

"Paulina, please, quit, okay?" Tucker groaned, "You know Danny is no longer interested in you, so stop hurting yourself."

Paulina stopped walking, and looked down, her teeth and fists clenched.

"How dare those losers to treat me like that? I wish some ghost would appear and give them a lesson."

Without Paulina noticing, a green skinned, raven haired female ghost overheard her, and got a sly smile while making a wrist movement.

"As so you wished… so shall it be!"

A split second later, Tucker and Sam got surprised by a huge greenish long fanged male ghost appearing right in front of them.

"This one is new!" Tucker yelled in fear.

"Watch out!" Sam pushed him aside to avoid a punching attack from the specter. On the meantime, a scared Paulina had rushed behind a parked car to see the action from a safe place.

"Wow. Don't know from where that ghost came, but guess a little scaring on them wouldn't hurt." Paulina thought out-loud.

Sam and Tucker ran on different directions to confuse the ghost, and then Tuck took out a mini-blaster, shooting at the enemy several times. The specter got hurt, but wasn't stopped, and dashed against Tucker, ready to hit him, but Sam caught the enemy from behind with the Jack-o-Nine-Tails, shocking him. The ghost, however, was pretty strong, and broke free after a few seconds, jumping over Sam.

BLAST!

The ghost got intercepted by an energy shot, and was sent the other side of the street, as The Red Huntress headed against him.

"Hey, Greenie, this is going to hurt!"

Valerie shot an electric-like blast against the ghost, stunning him, and then jumped from her sled, kicking his head. The specter fell to the ground and shook his head; when recovering conscience, the first thing he saw was Sam aiming at him with a Thermos.

"So long, Ugly."

WHOOOSSH!

"Great; Danny and I leave for a while, and you guys are making new friends." Valerie smirked at Sam and Tucker while recovering her regular outfit.

"Hey, someone has to handle ghosts when you and Danny aren't around." Sam grinned at Val while closing the Thermos.

"And talking about Danny and you… can tell us some stories about The League's girls?" Tucker's comment made both girls to roll their eyes.

"And I had to stand him on my own for two weeks." Sam sighed.

"To think Danny and I thought you missed us, Tucker… and are just interested in superheroic gossip." Valerie said in a fake hurt tone.

"Who do you think I am? Paulina?" Tucker joked, and a moment later the three teens laughed loudly. The trio left to Valerie's house while Paulina overheard them and growled in anger.

"Valerie… the only reason Danny is with you is because of that silly battle suit! Without it, you're just a had-been-popular!" Paulina walked away, furious, her little rant overheard as well by a sly-smiling Desiree, who was flying at a very good height to avoid Valerie's ghost alarm detecting her.

"Hmmm… think I should follow this girl; maybe she'll wish for something interesting."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At Metropolis, the Martian Manhunter and Steel arrived at the scene a few minutes later to help Superman and Danny keep an eye on the captured villains as they were dragged inside some temporary cells at S.T.A.R.; Metallo and Banshee were totally helpless, but Parasite and The General had to use special restrains and power-inhibiting collars so they couldn't break out before more adequate cells were prepared.

"Why we weren't told these criminals would be here? We could have some Leaguers keeping an eye on them." Steel addressed one of the labs' investigators.

"Well… we got permission to do some research on Metallo's armor, and Banshee and Parasite's powers, and it was done secretly to avoid any villain helping them escape; unfortunately, it seems The General still conserves some secret codes and passwords, and found out about our work."

"Those codes will be changed immediately." The investigator and the heroes turned to see a tough looking Afro-American on business suit, and a mature aged scientist next to her.

"Waller and Hamilton; why I'm not surprised?" Superman folded his arms and frowned slightly. Danny felt slightly nervous; Superman only used that kind of tone on villains.

"The new kid, uh? Heard some good things about him," Amanda Waller arched an eyebrow at Danny and then looked at the elder heroes. "Look, I owe you guys no explanations, but agree on the risks of having several villains at the same place without proper preparation; unfortunately, our security measure is no longer with us."

"What do you mean?" Steel didn't like the implications of that phrase.

"Galatea," Hamilton sighed and moved a step ahead, looking down, "She escaped yesterday, and hadn't been able to find her."

The elder heroes got worried looks, while Danny got a confused one.

"And, again, we weren't told!" Superman addressed Hamilton with a mixture of anger and disappointment, "Emil, I know we aren't in good terms these days, but thought you would know better about hiding this to us, especially to me!"

Danny was about to open his mouth when hearing the Martian's voice inside his head.

"**_Don't ask, Daniel. I'll explain everything, but don't interrupt them."_**

"_**Uh… okay… having you inside my head is kind of weird."**_

"**_I know, most humans have troubles with this at first. Anyway, let me explain you; she's Galatea."_** J'onn projected an image on Danny's mind; it was from a strongly built yet pretty blonde, wearing a totally white outfit, including gloves and boots, her legs uncovered and an oval-shaped hole on the chest area, revealing a bit of her bust.

"_**Pretty lady; Tucker would like her."**_

"**_Only if she doesn't crush him first,"_** J'onn continued, **_"Galatea is a Supergirl's clone, her aging process and physical features altered to make her more powerful than the original. She was created by Dr. Hamilton under Waller's orders, as part of Project Cadmus' investigations."_**

"_**What's that project about?"**_

"**_It was a government division to create a force that would oppose The League on the event of any or many of us becoming a threat; the serum that turned General Eiling into the creature you and Superman fought was another result of it. As you might imagine, Superman has certain personal issues on this, especially since he and Hamilton were former friends, and the scientist took advantage on his trust to clone his cousin."_**

J'onn cut the telepathic communication, and he and Danny got full attention on the conversation; the whole explanation lasted just a few seconds, so nobody noticed Danny's expression during it.

"We originally thought about getting her ourselves, but it seems Galatea found a way to neutralize the tracking chip we placed on her," Hamilton sighed, and then looked up at Superman, "Look, I know you aren't exactly thrilled about this, but I also have personal issues in this; Kryptonian DNA, on its purest form, is hard to handle, and creating a clone usually has bad results, as when Luthor created Bizarro, so… we had to fuse Supergirl's DNA with human one; mine."

"You mean that Galatea girl is practically your daughter?" Danny pointed, making the scientist to sigh sadly and nod. "Then, why she escaped home?"

"Probably due frustration," Waller said, "Since Cadmus got dismantled, we had been trying to apply our resources and find new uses for the weapons we created, including the biological ones, like Galatea; unfortunately, since she got conditioned to fight The League her whole life, doesn't feel comfortable doing anything else. Not to mention that, since as Hamilton said, she has a good portion of human DNA kryptonite isn't as effective on her as with pure Kryptonians; she can get hurt or weakened by it, but to really stop her we would need more than twice the quantity it would take to get Superman."

"We have our own resources," J'onn said as walking a step ahead and addressing Waller and Hamilton, "if she has enough Kryptonian DNA, we'll be able to find her. We'll contact you when doing it."

Waller nodded at the heroes, and walked away, Hamilton following her a moment later. Steel pressed a button on his armor, contacting The Watchtower and explaining everything to the Leaguers on monitor duty.

"Use the genetic scanner and set it with Supergirl's information; Galatea has enough of her DNA to be detected."

"And where's Supergirl; at The Watchtower?" Danny asked; the whole time he had been at the embassy, hadn't seen her not even once, and, now he remembered, hadn't seen her on news for a while now.

"No; she traveled to the future when getting 21. Met a guy there, and well, fell for him; I miss her at times, but as long as she's happy, I'm glad for her." Superman told Danny, getting a slight smile.

"Clockwork would have a ghostly coronary if hearing about that… of course, if hadn't returned her yet I guess Supergirl being at whatever century she left is for the best." Danny scratched the back of his head, and then wide opened his eyes, "Wait! What are you guys going to do when finding her?"

"Unfortunately, it seems we'll need to lock her somewhere; Galatea is very powerful, and almost destroyed The Watchtower once; Steel and Supergirl barely survived a battle with her, and needed the whole station's energy to shock her unconscious."

"But it's not her fault, I mean, obviously she needs to get controlled, but only became a menace because someone made her that way!" Danny then got a little grin, "I have an idea if you want to hear it."

"What kind of idea?" J'onn arched an eyebrow at Phantom.

"If you guys contact Zauriel I'll explain everything."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?"

Galatea, furious, hit a large rocky column at The Great Canyon, destroying it immediately. However, despite her anger, large sadness tears were running down her cheeks.

After a while of destroying rocks, Galatea flew on top of a little hill, sitting on it.

"Where are you, Supergirl? How can I prove everyone who is the strongest of us if you don't appear?"

"So, this whole mess is anger management stuff?" Galatea looked up at a grinning hovering Danny, "You know, I beat some weak yet annoying ghosts for that; my favorite is The Box Ghost."

"Then I'll beat you!" Galatea jumped at Danny, who turned intangible to avoid the attack; the woman tried to hit him again at super-speed, but Danny turned invisible, escaping for the moment and reappearing a few feet behind her.

"Hope this doesn't turn into a battle; a Kryptonian beating in a lifetime is enough." Danny thought out loud, and then addressed Galatea on his kindest tone, "Look, I didn't come to fight, just to talk."

"Yeah, right; who sent you; Waller or the League?" Galatea growled.

"Technically, both," Phantom landed at the hill, "Everybody is looking for you, Galatea, and I asked Superman for a chance to talk; if you keep attacking me, The League will send him, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern to get you, and trust me, by teleportation they can be here in a snap, and, well, you might be powerful, but there's no way you can defeat the three of them and me at the same time."

"So, I have no choice," Galatea groaned and landed next to him, "Fine, I'll hear you, but first tell me why Supergirl hadn't faced me; is she hiding behind Superman's cape?"

"No, she moved to another place very far away from Earth, at least, this age's Earth."

"You're kidding me." Galatea got a shocked expression, "Tell me you're kidding me."

"Nope… sorry."

"I can't believe it!" The blonde fired a powerful heat vision's shot at a nearby boulder, destroying it in a moment. "Now, how I'm going to prove my power?"

"Why it's so important to beat her?"

"You don't know about my life!" Galatea looked down, "The whole purpose of my creation was to defeat The League, and she in particular and now can't do it! Sure, I still can attack the embassy, or that tower, but since Cadmus no longer exists and the government realized the heroes turning into a menace isn't a possibility as strong as used to think, doing that would make me a villain! I was hoping to take Supergirl out from her hideout by making some noise here and there, and solve everything in a one-to-one fight, and now you tell me that's impossible!"

"Look, let's imagine you can do that, or defeat a hero just as powerful as her; then what? Just traveling around the world beating everyone and everything you find?"

"You can't understand me."

"Yes, you have a point, but know someone who might do it."

A moment later, Danni turned visible next to Danny, surprising Galatea.

"Hi! My name is Danielle; I'm Danny's clone." The girl offered her hand to the blonde, who, stunned, accepted the greeting.

"Uh… excuse me, but… how can you be his clone? I mean, boy and girl?"

"Boys have the two chromosomes, remember?" Danny shrugged, and then started flying away, "I'll be around, but far enough so you two can have some privacy, okay?"

"Sure, bro." Danielle nodded at Danny, who turned invisible a moment later.

"You two are… friends?" Galatea arched an eyebrow at Danni.

"Yeah; sure, we have some problems once in a while but, hey, he treats me like a person or a ghostly person anyway; practically, I'm like his little sister or cousin. Not bad considering I got created as an attempt to replace or capture him."

"Who created you?"

"A guy called Vlad; he wanted his own half-ghost son, but most of his experiments failed and melted after a while. I almost ended that way as well, but Danny helped me, and now I'm having a pretty decent life."

"And you don't feel… inferior, or as a cheap version of him, or something like that?" The blonde got a confused look.

"No; sure, I have some traits from him, but have my own personality, features, friends and stuff. And I'm sure you do and like some things the original Supergirl doesn't."

"Yeah… most of my life I spent it in a lab, and hadn't experienced many regular people's experiences."

"I know the feeling; most of my education came from videos, and even if sometimes Vlad gave me regular meals, hardly ate candies or stuff like that."

"My… dad sometimes gave me ice cream as a reward," Galatea got a little smile.

"What's your favorite flavor?" Danielle placed in front of her, getting a childish smile.

"It would be either banana or pistachio."

"Those are good, but nothing like chocolate or strawberry."

"Nah, too common," Galatea shook her head.

"Nothing beats the classics!" Danni replied back, and soon the two females got into a friendly argument.

At a distance, hovering over the females, Danny turned visible, and Zauriel flew next to him.

"A very nice idea, Danny," The angel said to the boy, who shrugged and got a little smile.

"Well, I know not all battles are won by fighting; and, besides, last thing we need is another Zod."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of hours later, Galatea arrived at The Watchtower, teleported alongside The Phantoms and Zauriel, being greeted by Superman, J'onn, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.

"Galatea," Superman walked ahead of the group.

"Superman," The blonde nodded at him.

"I talked with your father, and he approved staying with us if you agree, of course."

"Yes… Danielle and her brother told me that." Galatea replied, slightly nervous, "Are you sure about this, I mean… practically destroyed this place once."

"I know; therefore, we know what you're capable to do, and we'll keep an eye on you while giving the proper training, plus we're not allowing you out of this tower without surveillance for a while; and I'm not promising anything, and know many leaguers will feel a little uncomfortable about having you here, but we all believe in second chances when the person we offer them really wants to make an effort."

"I've never being afraid of some hard work," Galatea smirked, "But be warned; I'll do my best to be top hero around here."

Superman chuckled a little, and every hero around him did the same; certainly, she had some of Supergirl's attitude, with some added toughness of course, but that was good to limit the obvious comparisons.

"I'll show you your room," Diana offered the blonde, who nodded and started following her after giving a slight smile to The Phantoms.

"I'll ask for permission to come here visit at times, Tea." Danielle said to Galatea, and then gave a good look around, "Was planning to do it anyway, I mean, this place is just too cool!"

"I'll like that," Galatea chuckled, and followed Diana out of the room, "So… you're the strongest woman around here, right?"

"We Amazons are always ready for a good sparring match." Diana playfully smirked at her, making the blonde to do the same.

"Now we're talking the same language."

"Can I go with them? I really want to see this place!" Danielle asked Danny, who looked at Superman and the other heroes.

"Sure, go have fun; just don't break anything." Superman nodded at the girl, who smiled widely and then flew at the direction Diana and Galatea left.

"Well, boy, guess you earned the right to return to the embassy flying a Javelin." GL said to Danny, a proud look on his face.

"Hey, thanks! And… will she be alright?"

"That's what we hope; sure, we'll take some cautions. The whole time she'll be here, will be at least two leaguers capable to handle her at the tower; Diana and J'onn will have first shift, John and I tomorrow, Billy and Captain Atom later, and so." Superman's explanation was cut by the tower's alarm.

WOOT! WOOT! WOOT!

"Watchtower here; what's the situation?" J'onn dashed to the controls and pressed a button to answer the contacting leaguer, with a serious voice replying him.

"_Emergency, code AA-X! Repeat, we have a AA-X!"_

"We're sending help immediately!" Zauriel said before turning at Phantom, "Danny, this is serious; we'll need every available leaguer, including the honorary ones."

"Sure, count on me," Danny quickly replied, getting an anxious and confused look, "But what's an AA-X Emergency?"

J'onn replied as setting the coordinates at the teleporter.

"It's a massive break-out at Arkham Asylum."


	6. Maniacs Unleashed

**- Maniacs Unleashed.**

**Gotham City.**

"Where's the SWAT Team?"

"We don't need them but some weed killer!" Harvey Bullock, one of Gotham's toughest cops, groaned as shooting to a large wine trying to grab him and the other cops next to him. The whole area around Arkham Asylum, home of criminally insane crooks, murderers and freaks, was covered by large, moving wines that were a major obstacle for the cops trying to contain the escaping prisoners.

"You'll soon need nothing but a mortician."

Bullock got surprised by a large shadow jumping over the cops; he tried to shoot at it, but the attacker was as fast as he was strong, and kicked the large officer as if being a soda can. The rest of the cops were dispatched in a similar way in a matter of seconds; Bullock finally recognized the attacker when looking up at the huge man using black and white wrestler-like equipment (mask included), with a device on his right arm that had a plastic conduct attached to the back of his head.

"Time to break you all," The villain advanced towards Bullock, ready to crush him, when a dark caped man surprised him with a double kick that stunned him. The criminal shook his head and growled at his enemy, standing right in front of him.

"Releasing Arkham's inmates; you're running out of creativity, Bane."

"Why messing with a winner strategy, Batman? And I might be running out of creativity, but never out of this." Bane smirked as pressing a button on his arm's device, pumping a powerful drug directly on his blood stream and nervous system. A second later, the already muscular man seemed to grow several inches.

Bane dashed against Batman, who blocked a punch and replied with one of his own; the hero then avoided a kick, and tried to do the same, but Bane caught his leg and threw Batman over his head. The vigilante made a gracious air-spin to land on his feet, and threw a batarang against the villain's head; Bane caught it mid-air, and squished the weapon.

"You need to bring better weapons." Bane charged at his enemy, and threw his fist against Batman's head.

CRUNCH!

"Already did it." Batman smirked at Bane, who was grabbing his hand in pain after hitting Superman's chest. The villain then received a good hit from the Kryptonian, sending Bane several feet up in the air, knocking him out.

"What's the situation?" Green Lantern asked Batman after him, Wildcat, Green Arrow and Danny got teleported next to the dark hero, Superman already checking up Bullock and the other officers.

"Bane released all the criminals, and this time took the caution of giving them their usual weapons; Poison Ivy lost no time and created her own jungle to cover the escape." Batman then looked at Danny, who gulped at the hero's tone and attitude. "Danny Phantom?"

"Y-yes, sir."

"You had a similar situation at your city once," Batman said, still conserving the scary look but softening it a little bit, "If you freeze the plants, it will make our job a lot easier."

"Consider it done, sir." Danny saluted Batman and was about to fly when the hero called his attention back.

"And don't try to get any villain by your own, understood?"

"Not fighting alone, got it," Danny flew away, and sighed in relief, "No wonder criminals fear him; he scared me, and I fight ghosts!"

Danny shook his head and went back to business; as Batman said, the problem wasn't so different to the time Undergrowth attacked Amity, so his ice powers were a good option. The ghost boy phased through the ground, and started using his freezing rays on the roots, eliminating the plants at the surface while the Leaguers concentrated on helping the cops and recapturing the villains.

BANG!

BANG! BANG!

"Keep shooting! We have them now!" The Penguin and The Riddler, the first one armed with one of his trick umbrellas and the other with regular guns, shot at the cops while covering behind one of Ivy's thickest wines.

"Riddle me this; what has a blue uniform and extra holes on its head? The answer, in a moment!" The Riddler chuckled as aiming at an unprotected cop.

"Here's your answer, Mister Interrogation!" The Riddler's gun fell from his hands due an arrow's impact. The Penguin moved next to his companion, and, pressing a button on his umbrella, shot an electric beam at Green Arrow, who rolled at the floor to avoid the attack while charging his bow with a trick arrow, catching Penguin and Riddler in a large net a moment later.

"You guys should have stayed in your cells." The archer grinned at his captured prey, ignoring an armored man, with his head covered by a transparent dome-like helmet, aiming at him with a gun; a second later, Green Arrow hardly escaped from an ice ray courtesy of Mister Freeze.

"I'm not failing again, archer." Freeze talked in a cold, emotionless tone, but his next shot got avoided when a shirtless and barefooted man, his body covered on knives' scars, got thrown against him, falling unconscious at the armored criminal's feet.

"Zsasz? Who did this?"

"That would be me, Ice Cube." Mister Freeze received a powerful hit at his chest, and, when trying to shoot at his attacker, fell on his knees due a kick at the back of his legs. The villain tried to defend himself, but Wildcat jumped back just in time to escape a freezing shot.

"Remember me, Cool Man?" Freeze turned right in time to see a glowing arrow flying against him. A moment later, the arrow got stuck on his armor, and a large vapor column appeared from the impact site.

"AAARGH!" The villain growled as the dome started cracking and his temperature rose.

"A thermal arrow," The archer grinned as standing next to Wildcat, who simply smirked at him while the villain fell unconscious.

"Hope you have a freezing one among your toys, because we need to put this guy on ice until getting a good cell for him… or a large fridge."

At another area, several cops ran in fear as being confronted by scary hallucinations.

"Run, run, you puny mortals! Beware the might of The Fear God!" The Scarecrow laughed as attacking the officers with a large dosage of his fear gas; his joy was short lived as a large wind blew the gas away.

"NO! What are you doing?" The villain looked up at Green Lantern, who dissipated the gas by creating a large fan with his ring.

"Just sending you back to your cage, Wacko; if you like scaring birds, scare this one!" Green Lantern then formed a huge green raven that caught the criminal on its beak, flying with him back to the asylum.

"Shoot at them, now!" A police officer yelled at his companions, yet nobody dared to do it, as a large human mass advanced towards them; all the attackers had a metallic band on their heads, and a zombie-like expression, a little man with a large hat and another one whose left side of his body was horribly scarred.

"Yes, shoot at them; shoot at the innocent victims." The Mad Hatter laughed while Two Face threw his coin at the air, and then received it at his palm, checking the upper face; one that was scarred as well.

"The coin says… eliminate them all!" Two Face said to his companion.

"As you wish, Mister Dent; servants, now, Full Force Attack!" The Mad Hatter commanded his controlled minions, who roared and charged at the cops, yet never touched them as a red blur moved among them, removing the head bands.

"Sorry, guys, but these accessories are very old fashioned for this season." The Flash grinned at the criminals as The Hatter's victims recovered their senses.

Two Face took out a couple of guns, aiming at The Flash, but couldn't shoot them since Batman stroke first, attacking from behind and knocking both him and The Hatter with well-placed karate chops at the back of their necks.

At another place, a huge reptilian man was trying to slash Vixen (who arrived just a few seconds ago), while a man on a winged armored suit looked at them from the skies.

"I'm not wasting my time fighting all these heroes; can burn people any day I want."

"Don't think so, Firefly." Superman stopped right in front of the villain, who shot a powerful flaming attack against the hero, who hardly felt it. Superman then moved at high speed, and ripped the armor's wings, leaving the villain unable to fly; luckily for him, the hero grabbed him by the collar, saving his life yet also stopping the escape.

Back on earth, Vixen dodged to avoid a savage punch, and replied with a good kick at her enemy's chest.

"You can't beat me, woman! I'm Killer Croc, and didn't get that name by losing battles!"

"So, you only have crocodile's powers? That's bad for you; want to see a charging elephant?" Vixen smirked as touching the amulet hanging from her neck, and, a second later, Croc got knocked out by a powerful hit with the equivalent strength of a pachyderm's attack.

"Thanks, miss," a wounded police officer approached Vixen, "That brute attacked me, and almost finished me before you arrived."

"Yes, I'm sure he did," Vixen smirked at the cop, and then delivered her own slashing attack on him, leaving deep wounds on her prey, "Sorry, Clayface, but that trick doesn't work on someone with animal senses!"

"So, you discovered me," the villain smirked as his eyes turned yellow, and his full body changed to his original monstrous mud-like humanoid figure, "Not bad, cutie, but you'll need something better to stop someone who can adopt any shape!"

"Like a prison that can do the same?" Vixen grinned at the villain, who got entirely covered a moment later by a large red and flesh-colored blanket.

"Hey! Let me out of here!"

"Sorry, Ugly, but Plastic beats Mud!" Plastic man chuckled as his prey struggled to escape, "Don't worry, Vixie, this guy isn't escaping!"

"I know; you already have so much dirt in your mind that a little more on your body is no problem." Vixen gave her companion a knowing grin.

"My plants! My precious plants!" At another site, Poison Ivy cried as her wines started dying, a woman on a buffoonish outfit next to her.

"Maybe they needed more manure, Red."

"No, Harley, it's something more… and I can feel the problem's source!" The red-haired, green skinned and outfitted villainess growled as running away, Harley Quinn closely behind her.

Danny finally emerged from the ground, and got a large smile when noticing all the plants were eliminated.

"I know shouldn't say it myself, but guess this was a good job." Danny said to himself.

"YOU KILLED MY PLANTS!" Danny gulped and turned intangible just in time to avoid getting hit by a little arrow, shot from Ivy's wrist crossbow.

"Uh, you're in problems, kid. She gives me a lecture every time I accidentally step on a flower." Harley grinned mockingly at Danny as taking out a large gun, shooting a huge boxing glove at the boy he destroyed with a good ghostly blast.

"You know, I'm getting tired of being shot by females." Danny sighed as keeping her intangibility to avoid getting hurt by Ivy's furious kicks and punches.

"Want me to handle them, Danny?" Black Canary appeared from apparently nowhere, charging against the villainesses.

"All yours," the boy grinned as hovering a few feet up, just in time for the blonde to deliver a mighty kick at Ivy's jaw, taking her out of the battle.

"Hey, it's my friend you're kicking!" Harley groaned and took out a large mallet, attacking Canary and almost hitting her. The clownish female tried to hit her again, but the mallet fell from her hands as Danny turned it intangible.

"Uh, oh!" Harley gulped when finding herself unarmed, and, before she could take out another weapon, Canary delivered two powerful punches at her jaw and finished the job by kicking her guts, knocking out Harley.

"Thanks for the help, Danny."

"You're welcome; I'm not letting my girl's favorite teacher to get injured," The boy turned solid and landed next to Dinah.

"So, you'll better protect her from this, Spooky."

"Dinah, look out!" Danny touched the blonde to make them selves intangible, barely saving her from an acid shot.

"Oh, even Copperfield doesn't have those tricks!" Danny and Dinah looked at the attacker; a white-skinned, green haired man.

"Danny, he's The Joker! Stay intangible!" Dinah ordered the boy as charging against the clown, who unfortunately was waiting for this to happen and opened his right hand, surprising the heroine with a shock from his high-voltage palm buzzer.

"This little birdie will no longer sing!" The clown approached the stunned blonde, which made Danny to drop all cautions and jump over him, hitting The Joker and then grabbing him by the collar.

"If she's hurt, I'm so going to…"

"Oh, she'll be fine; can't say the same about you." The villain then hit Danny's neck with his left palm, and the boy released him, feeling an acute pain. The clown then showed his left hand, revealing a large needle.

"You're too tense for a boy your age; why don't you laugh a little?"

Danny fell on his knees, and, despite the pain, felt an irresistible impulse; he wanted to laugh, hard and restless.

"You like Uncle Joker's happy medicine? I modified it especially for super caped freaks; never imagined I would test it on a ghost! Guess this candy will be a blast on Halloween!" The Joker laughed, ignoring a crawling Dinah approaching from behind.

WHACK!

The clown stopped laughing, and fell to the ground, breathless, and his hands at the middle of his legs.

"Good thing Harley doesn't want kids…" The villain said to himself in a pained voice, while Dinah went to check up the boy.

"Danny, are you okay?"

"Y-y-yes… this… is… hah… is… so… hah… FUNNY! HAH-HAH-HAH!"

The heroine fell on her back as Danny dashed up in the sky, a large maniacal smile on his face, and his skin a pure white color while the boy's hair turned a dark green tone.

"Emergency! Emergency!" Dinah yelled at her communicator, "Danny got infected by Joker Poison!"

Superman and Green Lantern heard Dinah at the same time they did with Danny's insane laughter. The Kryptonian tried to catch his young friend, but Phantom turned intangible to avoid him, and then changed back to solid to blast the elder hero's back, stunning Superman. Green Lantern then tried to trap Phantom in an energy bubble, Danny escaping by turning invisible; the green outfitted hero then got surprised by the boy's ghostly wail, striking from above, and sending him against the asylum's closest wall. The resistance training, combined with craziness-induced adrenaline, prevented Danny from turning back to human after using his strongest attack, and the boy kept shooting ghostly beams and freezing rays randomly.

"You had to train him that well?" Green Arrow commented to Wildcat as both heroes avoided a powerful blast.

"Sorry to do this, Danny, but it's for your own good!" Flash ran in circles right under his friend, creating a powerful tornado that caught the ghost boy, who kept laughing despite losing balance and being sucked down to earth. The speedster stopped running, and approached to check the boy, who looked at him with maniacal joy.

"You're so cool I want to be you… actually, I'll be!" Danny jumped over Flash and overshadowed him, "Hey, look at me! I'm fast!"

Danny, on Flash's body, ran at high speed all over the place, pushing and shoving everyone and everywhere on his way; the only reason he wasn't running all around the world by now was the huge green dome GL formed to cover the area and prevent his escape.

"Hey, look at me! I'm here!" Danny-Flash chuckled, and then moved to a distant spot, "No, I'm here!" He changed place again, "Now I'm over here!" Danny repeated the operation several times until getting caught by Superman, who, having super-speed as well, was the only one able to follow his erratic movement.

"Don't hug me that tight, Supey! People will talk!" Danny-Flash laughed, and then got a dart on his neck. The boy jumped out of the speedster's body, stunned, and, luckily, turned solid immediately; Batman shot another dart at him, taking the boy down.

"Ugh… what happened?" Flash rubbed his temples when Superman released him. Batman leaned to check up Danny, and gave him another shot. The speedster, due his hyper metabolism, got quickly affected by the dart, but also recovered faster than an average person.

"This sedative will cool down the boy while his body expels the poison," Batman commented, "Told him to not face anyone by his own."

"That was my fault, Batman," Dinah approached the dark hero, showing an ashamed look, "The Joker got me, and Danny exposed himself for rescuing."

"Take him to the tower; I'll go there after securing all the prisoners." Batman looked up at GL, "Keep the shield up until we get sure everyone is here and find out if any escaped."

GL nodded at Batman while the other heroes and the cops started doing their job, Dinah and Superman offering them selves to be teleported with Danny.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Uh… God, I feel as if The Lunch Lady was dancing on my head."

"No, just The Joker's poison that's leaving your system."

Danny opened his eyes, slowly, finding himself on an infirmary bed, with a serious headache and pretty dry lips. He then noticed Danielle sleeping on a chair at his left, and a large man on next bed; he was very tall, shoulder-length dark haired, and apparently a North American native, and, like Danny, had an IV, and was connected to a monitor.

"She had been with you since Superman and the others brought you here; was very worried, and used her powers to accelerate your healing." The man said to Danny in a very calm and friendly tone. "Since you recovered conscience, guess you're finally toxins-free."

"Thanks, Danni," the boy whispered to his female clone while gently rubbing her cheek, and then turned at the man, "We hadn't been properly introduced; Danny Phantom, poisoned by a clown."

"Long Shadow, molecular degeneration," the man replied; when hearing his name, Danny finally recognized him.

"Hey, you were part of that other team… Ultimen, right?"

"Yes, I was," LS sighed, "we were part of Cadmus Project; the whole idea was creating a group who would rival The League both in power and popularity. All of us were genetically engineered, just like Galatea and your friend here."

"So, Vlad isn't the only fruit-loop around," Danny shook his head, "You said something about molecular degeneration."

"It's a very common problem among fast developed clones and artificial life forms in general; the same process that makes us grow to a 'useful' state in a few weeks or months is hard to control, and makes our cells to decay much faster than regular ones. The only reason I'm alive now is due special medication and treatments developed by The League's scientists; daily, I must take a few pills, and have to stay here at the infirmary a couple of days each month; my former partners… I'm sure they're gone for a good time now."

"I'm sorry. Wish could help you."

"You're doing it; when Superman and you captured Vlad Masters and exposed him to the world, The League got access to his cloning investigation, and we're applying some of his discoveries to heal my condition. Lost my powers a few months ago, and recovered them recently after taking a newly modified version of my medicines."

"You're welcome," Danny smiled slightly, and then sighed as looking at the ceiling, "Glad did something good for The League before getting expelled."

"What do you mean?"

"I screwed everything on this mission; barely remember a thing of what I did after The Joker intoxicated me, and somehow think is better that way."

"Don't say that," Long Shadow changed to a serious expression, "Leaguers make mistakes too, you know? And if they're accepting Galatea and me after being created to fight them, I see no reason to expelling you."

"Thanks… but I still feel bad for failing; I'm working alongside some guys and women whose names are legend, and would hate to disappoint them."

"You hadn't."

Danny saw at his right, spotting Batman slowly approaching him. The Dark Knight and Long Shadow nodded to each other (obviously, Batman wasn't used to give cordial greetings), and then the detective addressed Danny.

"Certainly, you disobeyed me, but not because of cockiness or showing off; you were trying to help a companion in distress; exposed more than necessary, true, and gave us some troubles because of that mistake, but that's one reason you're here with us, to learn and improve, and have someone covering your back the same way you cover ours." Batman then nodded at the boy, and started walking away; before leaving, stopped for a moment at the door frame, and directed to Danny again, "By the way, your family is calling; Long Shadow will tell you how to communicate from here."

"Believe it or not, that's his way to say you did a good job," LS said to Danny after Batman left, and then touched a button next to his bed, "There's a little speaker next to your bed; can talk with your family in a moment."

"Thanks," Danny then turned at the speaker, "Mom? Dad? Jazz? Val? Guys?"

"_All of them, dude!"_ Tucker's voice was heard.

"_Danny, sweetie, are you okay?"_

"_Yes, Dr. Irons told us you had a problem with a psycho clown."_

"Mom, Val, please, calm; don't worry, I'm fine, just a little shaken." He then looked at the sleeping Danielle, and LS, who was accommodating to do the same, and got a little smile.

"And among friends."


	7. Panic In The Sky

**- Panic in the sky.**

**The Watchtower.**

Three days later.

Danny walked around the Watchtower, looking through the large windows. Even if feeling totally fine since two days ago, the leaguers insisted on him staying there for observation, and he wasn't complaining; being able to wake up and see Earth, the Moon and the stars, all at the same time, was a dream come true for the boy. Danielle left the tower shortly after he could leave his bed, but promised to return (with the League's permission) in a few more days; Danny wasn't totally sure if she wanted to see him okay, or just stay a little longer at the tower… probably it was a 50/50 thing.

Of course, he didn't spend the whole day checking the views; the place had a gym and training facilities, just like the embassy, so Danny could continue his training there. Wildcat got teleported that same morning for some working out, and Danny spent the rest of the morning helping Zauriel with the monitors; right now, he was on his recess, simply relaxing and walking around.

"Wonder if someone is training right now." Danny thought out loud when passing next to the battle simulator. The boy phased through the door, finding J'onn and Long Shadow looking the fighters through the window.

"We might need to make these doors ghost-proof." J'onn said to Danny without losing sight of the battle.

"You can ask my dad for that; he'll surely be more than glad to provide something." Danny shrugged and placed himself next to Long Shadow, wide opening his eyes when realizing who were fighting. "How long had them been on this?"

"Stopped checking the watch after the first twenty minutes," LS smiled slightly and then he and his companions got surprised expressions. "I'm sure that must hurt."

At the simulator, Diana took some deep breaths, while Galatea, the other side of the room, stood up slowly, both females bruised and sweating.

"You had enough?" Diana smirked at the blonde.

"Why, are you tired?" Galatea replied as getting a similar look.

"Not a little bit," Wonder Woman got back her fighting stance as Galatea charged against her.

The Amazon blocked some high-speed punches with her bracelets, and then gave the blonde a good kick at the mid section; Galatea resisted the attack, and grabbed the brunette's ankle, throwing her full force against a wall. Diana received a good impact yet recovered in time to catch Galatea's fist when she tried to hit her face; WW replied with a powerful punch of her own, stunning the blonde and leaving her vulnerable against a wrestling move. Diana twisted her opponent's wrists against her back, and placed her leg between hers, making Galatea unable to fight back.

"Do you give up?" WW said at her ear.

"No… this move is cool but useless when your enemy can fly," Galatea replied, and then, in a dashing action, flew up top speed, smashing both Diana and herself against the room's ceiling. Diana released her, stunned, but the action did the same to the blonde, so couldn't attack again until both she and the brunette were totally alert again, and went back to exchange kicks and punches.

"What is that room made of?" Danny asked, surprised.

"Titanium and a thin layer of promethium; even with that, those two are forcing the walls to their limits… and their bodies as well." Long Shadow replied while J'onn sent a telepathic message to the females.

"**_It's enough for today. Stop now; the both of you have done a great job."_**

Diana and Galatea nodded to each other, and then descended back to the floor, the brunette offering her hand to the blonde a moment later. Galatea shook it, and gave Diana a sly smile.

"I could have won, you know?"

"Probably," Diana smiled back at the blonde, and both women left the room.

"Are you sure they knew this was just a sparring fight? Looked very serious to me," Danny said to J'onn.

"Yes, they knew. Actually, this was more a self-control test than a real battle; since Diana agreed on not using her lasso or tiara, two things that can actually hurt a Kryptonian, Galatea agreed on not using her heat vision or freezing breath, and she stuck to the rules."

"Hey, I don't need to cheat to be a beating machine," Galatea opened the door behind Danny; having super-hearing, she knew what he and J'onn were talking about. "So, kid, would you like having a little battle with me later?" The blonde smirked at a nervously chuckling Danny.

"No, thanks; might be a half-ghost, but have no death wishes. See you guys later." Danny then fazed through the floor to leave the room; inside, even J'onn chuckled a little bit.

Danny arrived at the control room, where Superman and Zauriel were monitoring other leaguers' activity. Of course, this required some assistance, and, just like down at the embassy, there were several civilian techniques and employees to help the heroes.

"Galatea wanted to fight you, right?" Superman playfully smirked at Danny.

"How do you know?"

"You look paler than usual." Zauriel added, making the boy to chuckle a little bit.

"_Oh, are we being social, boy?_

Danny recognized the voice coming from the monitors; everyone stopped whatever they were doing to look at a shaded green man's face appearing on all the screens.

"Technus? What are you doing here?"

"_You can ask that to the friend who helped me posses this little tower!"_ Half of the screens now were showing another face, a humanoid one with three bright spheres on his head forming some sort of triangle.

"Brainiac," Superman growled softly.

"_Never thought I would return, Kal-El? You should know by now that task is theoretically impossible."_

"Who's the guy with the robotic voice? And what are you doing with him, Technus?" Danny asked, having a very bad feeling about that person, or creature.

"_It's quite simple, my boy!"_ Technus cackled. _"After you destroyed that satellite I wanted to use to take over the world, part of my spectral aura extended through the space, and found a technological one, and you know how well technology and yours truly work together."_

"_Indeed, that's what happened." _Brainiac talked next, _"After my last defeat, I did my best to reach the mind of the human you know as Lex Luthor, being his intellect far superior to human's average, and having goals similar to mine; however, in my efforts, I found someone whose abilities suit mine in a more efficient way; a deceased human ectoplasmic form with a natural affinity for technology."_

"What do you want?" Danny jumped when hearing Batman's voice next to him; the boy had no idea the detective was there until opening his mouth.

"_What I always look for, human; getting all universal knowledge before erasing it."_

"_And then we'll start a new universe where machines will reign over flesh and blood! Oh, that will be so exciting!"_

"Not if we stop you two first!" Danny growled.

"_Sorry to tell you this, boy, but now I have full control over the tower, Brainiac and I are invincible, and when he destroys Earth, nobody will be able to stop us!"_

A large screen then showed several meteors heading to Earth, and a little robotic ship flying behind them.

"_That ship has a tractor beam that took several asteroids away from their orbit, Kal-El. I'm aware you and some of your associates have the skills to stop them, but to do that first have to leave your headquarter."_

The moment Brainiac stopped talking a gigantic energy sphere covered the Watchtower entirely.

"He's using the tower's energy to create a shield." Batman said as he and the others saw Brainiac and his ghostly ally's job.

"Communications aren't working!" One of the employees exclaimed.

"The teleporters… their systems are totally fried!" Another employee yelled.

"J'onn?" Superman called his Martian friend by his hand communicator that luckily still worked inside the tower.

"We know about the situation; this shield is blocking my telepathy as well. Our contact is limited to the tower's interior." J'onn replied back as he, Long Shadow, Diana and Galatea rushed to the main room.

"What about taking down the shield the old way, hitting it?" Galatea proposed.

"We improved the defenses after your previous visit," Diana informed her, "if Brainiac is using our generators, the shield will resist a nuclear attack."

"And how about phasing through the shield?" Danny said as looking at J'onn.

"_You can try, kid, but one of the things I'm bringing to my new partnership is knowledge about anti-ghost shields! Neither you nor the alien will be able to pass!"_

"We're losing time," Batman got everyone's attention, "by the looks of this, I'm almost sure Brainiac's robot will also prevent people on Earth to find about the meteors, including the rest of our team."

"But we have a permanent link to the embassy; if the communications aren't working, surely Green Lantern or someone else will come here and check for us." Long Shadow reminded everyone.

"_A logical measure; that's why you're going to distract them." _Brainiac got the closest to a sinister smile any leaguer had ever seen on him, and a moment later they felt the tower moving.

"We're going down; Brainiac is making the tower to fall as well!" Diana said as she and Superman did their best to calm down the scared civilians.

"Zauriel, you told me your sword can cut through anything," Danny turned at the angel.

"Yes, but can't make a cut on the shield big enough to take everyone out of here."

"And how about a passage to the Ghost Zone?"

Zauriel got a sly smile, and took out his sword; a moment later, there was a human-sized portal at the monitor room.

"Now, time for a little ghostly rescue; hope my own communicator still works." Danny took out his Fenton Earphone, and sent a distress signal to his friends at the Ghost Zone; being technically out from the anti-ghost shield, The Ghost Zone wasn't affected.

"_That's not fair!" _Technus groaned.

"_We aren't being fair as well." _Brainiac replied, and then sent a signal through the tower, reaching the training robots at the battle simulator. A moment later, they were running rampant at the tower, Superman and Galatea being the first ones to notice thanks to their X-ray vision.

"Danny, you and Zauriel take everyone out of here; Long Shadow, you and Galatea cover their backs; Diana and I will handle the robots around the tower, and Batman and J'onn…"

"We're turning off the generator." Batman ended, nodding at Superman as he and the Martian dashed out of the room; the rest went immediately to do their assigned jobs.

Not even 10 seconds after Superman, Diana, J'onn and Batman left, several robots entered the main room by using the ventilation ducts. Danny got a fighting stance in front of the workers that were now crowded around Zauriel's portal, but LS and Galatea moved in front of him.

"Kid, you have your own mission, remember?" Galatea said as destroying a robot with her heat vision.

"Focus on the people, Danny, we'll cover you." Long Shadow added, and then grew up until being around 30 feet tall (the main room, luckily, was large enough), still not close to his maximal size yet good enough for fighting in a reduced space. The massive hero then grabbed a robot trying to jump over the people, and threw it against another one. Several robots started shooting at their victims, but LS received the whole attack, his size increasing his resistance to damage as well long enough for Galatea to blow apart the attackers with her arctic breath.

At a lower level, Diana smashed another robot, allowing several workers to escape and go to the main room, as Superman contained a very large one. At that moment, a laser gun, part of the tower's defense system, popped out from the ceiling, and shot at him, stunning the hero.

"_I know how sentimental you are, Kal-El, so modified this laser to shoot rays within the red sun's spectrum, just like in our home planet."_

The laser got shot again, but couldn't hit Superman since Diana deflected the attack with her bracelet, sending it back to the gun, destroying it. Several other similar weapons popped from the ceilings and walls, and got activated at the same time; Diana repeated the deflecting operation several times while Superman shot his heat vision against them while trying to avoid being hit as well.

J'onn crushed a robotic hand grabbing him by the throat, and then phased to avoid a laser shot. Batman destroyed the attacking robot with one of his explosive batarangs, and then ducked to escape another one that got destroyed by J'onn as well; then, two robots holding large weapons appeared at the corridor, shooting powerful flames against the Martian.

"AAAAGH!" J'onn screamed in pain and fell on his knees; Batman took out a couple of electric discs out from his belt and threw them against the robots, turning them off immediately.

"Are you okay?" Batman leaned to check his teammate.

"Yes… go ahead, I'll cover you." The Martian slowly stood up, looking at several robots advancing through the corridor. Batman nodded at him, and used an explosive to open up the elevator next to them; of course, he didn't wait for the elevator, but jumped at its duct, leading directly to the generator room.

"What are we waiting for?" One of the employees said to Danny, covering behind Long Shadow and looking at the boy and Zauriel standing next to the portal. Danny looked inside the portal, and got a large smile.

"We're waiting for them."

Everyone looked inside the portal, and gasped in surprise, spotting a huge ghostly pirate ship heading to them, Danielle Phantom flying in front next to a blue ghostly dragon.

"Hey, bro, think Youngblood's ship is large enough to transport everyone?" Danni shouted at Danny.

"Of course it is!" Danny then turned at Galatea and Long Shadow, "Okay, guys, you two can carry several people at the ship faster than us!"

"But who will cover us?" Galatea asked as hitting another robot.

"My friends," Danny moved aside to allow Danni, Dora, Wulf, Ember and Frostbite inside, the ghosts attacking the robots immediately.

"Told you I'd return!" Danni smiled at Galatea before shooting a ghostly ray against a robot trying to hit her. The blonde smiled and grabbed two employees, diving inside the portal a moment later; Long Shadow grabbed several ones on his huge hands, and moved them inside the portal, dropping the people gently inside the ghostly child's ship.

"I can't believe am saving a bunch of adults!" Youngblood groaned.

"See the bright sight; this is the first time in ages you have an excuse to use the ship." Poindexter pointed at him, making Youngblood to chuckle a little bit.

"Danny, there's a special space suit at that closet; get it." Zauriel pointed at a metallic closet next to the room's door. Danny obeyed and phased through the closet's door, emerging a moment later on a space suit that looked a lot like a more comfortable version of the Fenton Battle Suit.

"Now, for a personal touch," Danny concentrated, and, as sometimes happened when using a special outfit, the suit got his disguise's color and design.

"Wulf, I need a portal right out of the shield, on outer space!" Danny said to his furry friend who simply nodded and made his own portal with his claws, the ghost boy diving through it a moment later. Danny emerged outside Brainiac and Technus' shield after a few seconds, and then activated his suit's communicator.

"Watchtower to embassy, this is an emergency! The Watchtower is under attack and falling to Earth; Brainiac is controlling it! We also have a meteors attack!"

Meanwhile, Batman was already at the generator room, and heading to the main one, but three huge guard robots stopped him.

"_Your efforts are futile, human. You're unable to turn off our power source."_

"_Yes, you can't even touch it, dark freak!"_

"Who said I wanted to turn it off? I needed its energy to do this." Batman took a little metallic device out from his belt, and Technus paled when recognizing a large 'F' on it.

"_Hey, that's a Fenton invention!"_

"An ectoplasm eliminator that separates ghosts from overshadowed people and machinery; fusing with a ghost doesn't sound so clever now, Brainiac." Batman said as throwing the device against the generator, a large electric-like shock emerging from it a moment later. It was designed to affect just a single person, or a small machine, but by touching the generator, the device got powered enough to affect the whole tower.

"_NOOOO!"_ Both Technus and Brainiac yelled in pain as their control over the tower disappeared; Technus was literally kicked out from the generator, landing in front of Batman.

"You can't do this to The Master of All Technology!"

"But I can do this." Batman then aimed at Technus with a little cylinder, and sucked it inside; Vlad's former company getting absorbed by Wayne Corp, and having Danny's parents working there certainly had some advantages, including a modified, smaller yet still effective Fenton Thermos added to Batman's arsenal.

"_Very impressive, human, but I'm still here." _Brainiac's face appeared at a monitor next to Batman.

"Not for long; do it, J'onn!"

Brainiac groaned in pain and anger as being absorbed inside a special trap-computer disc the Martian placed in one of the room's computers; since sneaked inside the place by using invisibility, and Brainiac and Technus being distracted by Batman, J'onn wasn't noticed until being too late.

Right after Brainiac got captured, the shield disappeared, and all the still functional robots stopped moving; however, the tower was still out of balance and heading down to Earth.

"Superman, we got them, but still have the tower and the meteors' problem!" Batman contacted the Kryptonian via his communicator.

"I'm on that!" Superman dashed at super-speed to the closest exit, and left the tower a moment later. The hero then placed under the falling space station and started pushing to slow down the fall.

Superman felt a tapping on his right shoulder after a few minutes, and saw Diana's hand offering him a breathing mask with integrated communicator. The Kryptonian then looked around, spotting Galatea and J'onn, both using the same masks, pushing as well on certain points of the tower.

"_Didn't think you'd have all the fun, right?" _Superman heard Galatea's voice right after placing the mask on his head.

"Of course not," Superman replied, and then got his leader's voice again as looking at Diana pushing too, "We have to do this at the same time; if not coordinating, might break apart the tower by accident."

"_We have that covered!"_

Superman looked down, smiling when spotting Danny and Green Lantern, the last one projecting an emerald shield all around the Watchtower.

"I'll keep the tower in one piece!" Green Lantern said to Superman.

"Good, but we still have to handle the meteors!" Superman then looked at a distance, Brainiac's meteors now being visible to everyone and heading to Earth at high speed.

"_Those are ours!" _

Danny smiled when spotting Captain Marvel, with his mask on, dashing against the meteors and two other heroes right behind him, a metallic skinned one, Captain Atom, and Steel on a modified version of his armor, designed for space travel.

Brainiac's robot stopped guiding the meteors, and started shooting at the heroes, Steel destroying it a moment later with a good hit. Captain Atom then charged a massive energy sphere, and shot it against a meteor, destroying it on several small chunks that would disintegrate when reaching the atmosphere and CM did the same with another one by punching a weak spot. Steel took a lot of tiny bombs out from his armor's compartment, and threw them at a close meteor as well, destroying it in a moment.

As the destructive operation continued, some large chunks moved dangerously close to the leaguers holding the tower, but Danny got rid of them with some well placed ghostly rays.

"Those were the last ones." Danny smiled as noticing the elder heroes destroying the last meteors; unfortunately, they were so busy couldn't notice a large one placed a little far away from the others, but Danny did.

"I talked too soon!" Danny dashed faster than ever to reach the meteor and prepared to shoot a massive blast when hearing Batman's voice.

"_Danny, don't shoot! That's no longer a meteor, but a meteorite; is already inside Earth's atmosphere, and if destroying it the pieces will still be large enough to do damage!"_

"Things are never easy around here, right?" Danny groaned as finally holding from the huge space rock; even if using his whole power, the thing was the size of a stadium, and surely the boy wouldn't do any significant damage to it even if trying.

"_Danny, leave, now! I'll go handle it!"_

"Kal, even you can't be that fast! I'm trying something," Danny said, already feeling the intense heat produced by re-entering the atmosphere. The boy closed his eyes, and focused his whole power on the meteorite.

Down on Earth, at a medium-sized city, a kid looked up in the sky, spotting the meteorite and telling his mother to look at it as well; the woman screamed in fear, getting everyone's attention, and a few seconds later everyone was screaming, running, or cowering. The rock was now just a few miles over them.

The people became hysterical when it was two miles away.

Then one.

Two thousand feet.

One thousand feet.

Five hundred.

Three hundred.

One hundred.

And then…

It dived through the ground, people, animals, and buildings phasing through it, the rock disappearing without hurting anyone.

Less than one minute later, the other side of the world, hundreds of people jumped in fear and surprise when the massive rock emerged through solid ground, still intangible and heading outer space. The meteorite changed back to meteor less than a minute later, being out of the atmosphere, and an incredibly exhausted Danny Phantom smiled weakly.

"Piece of cake,... the last Christmas' fruit one, I mean." Danny closed his eyes and flew away from the rock that was moving away from Earth; a moment later he lost conscience and fell down, entering the atmosphere, and transforming back to human, a sure death situation. Danny got a little smile, and saw several faces in his mind; his parents, Jazz, Valerie, Sam, Tucker, Danielle, the leaguers, the guys at Amity, every single ghost he faced; and then heard a female voice.

"You're not dying today, Danny."

The boy opened his eyes, founding himself surrounded by dark energy; when looking around, realized it had the form of a huge bird, and, inside it, a Goth girl was smiling at him.

"And I thought only Beast Boy could be this fool."

"You don't know me that well." Danny smiled back at Raven before closing his eyes again to rest and allow her transport him back to Earth. The girl gave him a little look, and talked gentler than usual.

"You saved the world today, Danny; think you finally graduated."


	8. Final Test

**- Final Test.**

**Amity Park.**

Three days later.

"At what time he'll arrive?" Tucker asked Sam as they headed to The Fentons' home.

"Around two o' clock, but you know Danny; always late unless it involves ghost hunting."

"Something we have in common." Valerie joined them at that moment. Danny was returning Amity that day, and they wanted to be at his place to receive him.

"He's coming back today?"

The trio turned and Tucker gasped while the girls sighed; Paulina was using her tightest clothing ever, a red top and white mini-skirt combination.

"Nice outfit, Paulina; where's the rest of it?" Sam commented with her usual gothic indifference.

"Say whatever you want, Manson, but Danny will not resist me this time." Paulina folded her arms and got a proud look. Valerie and Sam shared a glance, and got sly smiles.

"Yes, I admit it, Paulina, you have a very good outfit," Valerie said, "Care if I try it?"

A second later, Valerie's nanobots did their job, and dressed her exactly like Paulina, who almost fainted at the sight, while Sam chuckled a little bit and Tucker's jaw fell.

"It's my imagination, or Danny is getting luckier every day?" Tucker finally got his voice back.

"But… how… you… your clothing… and mine…" Paulina blabbed, confused, and, a moment later, got a furious expression.

"Never imagined someone could turn her face that red," Sam said, which enraged Paulina even more.

"You think you're the best, don't you?" Paulina growled at Valerie, "DANNY ONLY DATES YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR SUIT AND THOSE CRAZY KARATE MOVES YOU HAVE! I HAD BEEN CRUSHING ON PHANTOM ALMOST SINCE THE BEGINNING!"

"Yes, and before that insulted and rejected Danny Fenton for years." Tucker pointed.

"SO? AT LEAST I WASN'T HUNTING HIM!"

Valerie's expression changed to a slight hurt one, but Sam jumped on her defense.

"Val only did it because a villain manipulated her and took advantage of a misunderstanding; she and Danny made peace and are happy together, and we all accept that, so do it too, okay?" Sam snapped at Paulina while placing a hand on Valerie's shoulder; the huntress gave the Goth a grateful smile.

"And that's our cue to leave; feel free to throw a tantrum once we go." Tucker said as he and his friends started walking away. Paulina gave them a hateful glare, and then yelled in rage.

"VALERIE! I WISH YOU WOULD GET A BEATING FROM A MEGA-EVIL POWERFUL GHOST, JUST TO SHUT YOU UP!"

In a perfect cue, Valerie's ghost alarm activated, and she and her friends turned at Paulina, who now was shockingly looking at a pink mist from where a familiar ghost appeared.

"Knew you would make a wish I'll like to grant!" Desiree cackled, and then her hands glowed with pink energy.

"Uh… I did something wrong?" Paulina gave the ghost hunters a sheepish grin.

"What do you think?" Sam growled at the Latino girl as Desiree chanted her spell.

"A very powerful and evil specter… as so you wished, SO SHALL IT BE!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At his lair, Clockwork smirked at an image on his screens, and turned at the place where was keeping a very special prisoner… one no longer was there.

"Just in time," The Time Keeper got a little smile and then looked back at the screens.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At The Watchtower, Danny picked up his backpack and headed to the teleportation room.

"Ready to leave, Danny?" Superman greeted him, Zauriel and Steel behind them on monitor duty.

"Yes, I am; this will be the first time in ages I'll be on time without any danger involved."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"I had to talk." Danny rolled his eyes and looked at the screen Steel was checking, "Hey, the emergency is at Amity?"

"Yes; we installed some special ghost detectors around your town," Steel commented as pressing some buttons, "Low level specters don't activate it, so it's up to your family and friends to handle them, but any strong one using his powers or several ghosts at once turn it on immediately."

Danny looked at the satellite image, and gasped; it showed Valerie, Sam, Tucker and Paulina, with Desiree, and, at that moment, a really dented Thermos appeared from thin air.

"Oh, no," Danny got a shocked look, "CALL ANY AVAILABLE LEAGUER! THIS IS A MAJOR EMERGENCY!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Valerie summoned her battle suit, ready to attack Desiree, but Sam and Tucker's fearful expressions when the badly dented Thermos appeared stopped her.

"Uh… that Thermos is bad news?"

"THE WORST ONES!" Tucker and Sam chorused; at that moment, the container exploded, and a huge ghost appeared from it; he had flaming hair and a goatee, a black and white outfit, cape included, and a stylized D on his chest.

"Free! I'M FINALLY FREE!"

"Eh… excuse me, but, who are you?" Desiree asked, surprised; her powers summoned a random ghost fulfilling the characteristics the wish requested, so the genie ghost had no idea of his identity.

"Desiree… so, you released me; how nice of you." The ghost smirked evilly at her, "My name is Dan, and even if it's the first time you see me, I know you… and know you must be destroyed."

Dan lifted a glowing fist, aiming at Desiree, who got a panicked look.

BLAST!

Dan received one of Valerie's shots full-force yet barely felt it. The specter turned to see his attacker, cackling evilly.

"Valerie; blasting you will be a pleasure."

Paulina didn't wait any longer and ran in a panic; Desiree took the chance to escape as well, while the ghost hunters faced Dan.

"Wait… you're that evil future Danny, right?" Valerie asked, still aiming at him.

"So, you know about me… and hanging around with Sam and Tucker? Well, guess things really changed since got caught. How interesting; but I'm sure you all still bleed the same."

Dan shot a blast against Valerie, who pushed Sam and Tucker away; The Red Huntress received the impact instead, sending her several feet back despite the extra protection of her new suit. The girl rolled at the pavement to stand up, and shot several blasts against Dan, who protected himself with a ghostly shield. On the meantime, Tucker ran behind a parked car to call the Fentons via cell phone, and Sam positioned behind Dan to attack him with her own blaster.

"A coordinated attack; you girls really had improved a lot, but still not enough to stop me." Dan turned invisible, and then reappeared hovering over the girls' heads, his hands glowing with energy, ready to attack.

"Bye-bye, ladies."

"Good bye, sucker!"

BLAST!

Dan received Danny's attack from behind, sending him against the closest wall.

"So, little Danny finally came out to play, uh?" Dan glared at his young self, who was giving him the same look.

"Was about to say the same; and you're hurting them over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged." Dan shot a double blast against Danny, but it got intercepted by Superman.

"I don't think so." Superman hovered next to Danny, him and Valerie ready to attack Dan if moving.

"Superman? You guys are friends?" Dan gasped, but his evil smirk returned immediately, "And you think The Justice League can stop me?"

"That idea crossed my mind." Danny replied.

"Oh, Danny, you need to think a little bit more," Dan smirked, "Can't guess how I became the main power at my future?"

"He destroyed The Justice League." Tucker, still hidden behind the car, wide opened his eyes in realization.

"I only need three weapons to do it, Danny; and you brought me one!" Dan took a deep breath.

**WAAAAAIIIIIILLLLL….!**

The powerful sonic attack sent Valerie and Danny many yards away while destroying a good section of the street; the boy reacted just in time to summon a ghostly shield to protect Tucker, Sam, and himself while Valerie used her sled to escape the attack; Superman barely resisted yet kept his place. Dan stopped his wail, and then charged against the Kryptonian; Superman caught him by the wrists, but Dan actually seemed to enjoy it.

"First weapon… Superman's powers!"

Dan turned intangible and dived inside Superman body. The hero groaned and contorted, trying to resist, but eventually Dan got the control.

"This is no good." Danny and Valerie chorused, shocked.

"Yes, it isn't," the villain smirked at them, "You can call me Super Dan… at least until using my favorite Superman's power! HEAT VISION!"

Super Dan's eyes got an intense red glowing, and a second later, a huge wide energy blast surged from them, covering the entire street. When stopping, practically the whole place was totally melted, no trace of Danny and company.

"Oh, yeah… I missed doing that!" Super Dan chuckled, "Next stop, Metropolis!"

The villain dashed away at super speed, heading to Superman's home and The Justice League's embassy. After a few seconds, at the next street, four teens emerged from the pavement.

"That was a close call." Tucker sighed in relief when changing back to solid.

"Hope the League has some kryptonite for these emergencies." Valerie commented.

"And I hope they don't use it; that thing make ghosts more powerful, remember? It would kill Superman's body but Dan would be even stronger." Sam pointed.

"A perfect weapon; I don't want to imagine what Dan will do with Superman's powers added to his." Danny turned on his communicator to tell The League everything.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

KROOM!

Super Dan entered the embassy by smashing a hole, and started shooting ghostly rays at random, the non-powered leaguers helping the civilian staff out, all of them already knowing about the problem thanks to J'onn's telepathic link.

"I really like this place; too bad it has to go." Dan chuckled evilly, stopping when a gold and blue armored hero charged against him.

"Hey, Spook, leave that body! Super is still using it!" Booster Gold snapped at the villain before shooting him full force; his armor, made with future technology, was quite resistant, thanks to a force field covering it, plus having two blasters powerful enough to turn a tank into debris, but it still was useless against Dan, who barely felt the attack.

"Booster, you still crack jokes… and still, none is funny." Dan rammed Booster at super-speed, sending him through a wall. The hero's force field protected him from a serious injury, but the impact stunned him, so couldn't escape a kick from the villain.

"Oh, it hurts, Goldie? Don't worry; next hit will be the last one."

FWOOOSH!

A green flame covered Super Dan, courtesy of Fire, shooting him from behind. Dan turned and stopped the flame with just one hand, not noticing Ice approaching from a side; a second later, the villain got covered by a thick icy layer.

CRACK!

Super Dan broke free almost immediately, and then grinned at both women who were preparing another attack.

"Fire and Ice; you know, I can do those tricks too." Super Dan then attacked Ice with heat vision; the woman barely had time to protect herself with an ice shield, but the blast destroyed it, and she fell unconscious. Fire attacked again, but Super Dan sent her the other side of the room with his arctic breath.

"I know you are behind me, Batman." Dan said in a calm yet venomous tone, without losing sight of the unconscious Fire, "I'd recognize that heart beat anywhere."

Super Dan formed a ghost shield around him the same second Batman threw the same device he used against Technus and Brainiac, destroying it immediately.

"You and your toys almost stopped me several times; now, I'm finishing you before coming with another idea, Bat-Freak!" Super Dan phased through the floor, and emerged behind Batman, slapping him. The hero flew several feet, and hit a wall; he didn't lose conscience, but was visibly stunned.

"Time to make some Bat-Beque!" Super Dan attacked Batman with his heat vision, but a green shield stopped the blast. Dan turned to see Green Lantern and Hawkgirl charging against him, the man making a blaster with his ring and the woman preparing her mace.

"Green and Birdie! Just in time for party." Dan chuckled while avoiding both hits. GL tried to catch him with energy chains, but the villain blasted them, and then punched the hero's head, his energy shield saving his life but still got stunned.

"Hey, get away from him!"

CLANG!

Hawkgirl's hit stunned Dan, and prepared another one, but the villain reacted and used super breath against the winged woman, making her lose balance. Super Dan then hit her, sending the heroine against the floor, and landed next to her.

"NO!" Green Lantern caught Dan in an energy bubble, but it was too late; the villain already had the second weapon he needed.

"A Thanagarian mace!" Dan chuckled, and then hit the bubble full force; the mace's energy, impacted by the combination of Kryptonian and ghostly strength, shattered the bubble and broke it in a moment. Green Lantern groaned in pain, and, before forming another weapon, got hit by Dan's ghostly wail, that sent the hero out of the building plus destroying several walls.

"Oh, this is getting better by the moment!" Dan laughed while looking at the mace, and then a bright cross appeared behind him; a male figure, with golden helmet, gloves, boots and cape, and blue tights, emerged from it.

"Doctor Fate; I had no idea you made home visits." Dan grinned evilly at the sorcerer, who made a complicated gesture with his hands.

"Evil spirit, your presence will not be tolerated on our world; by The Lords of Order's authority, I command you to leave Superman's body!" The sorcerer hero attacked Dan with a golden magical blast, but the villain intercepted it by using Hawkgirl's mace.

"Remember this weapon, Doc? The best way to finish any magical creature opposing me, including meddling wizards!"

Before Doctor Fate could prepare a proper defense, Super Dan attacked him with a ghostly blast, and then hit him full force with the mace; the hero survived but lost the helmet, and, with it, most of his magical power.

"Guess you got a headache, Doc; let me give you my own treatment." Dan raised the mace over his head, aiming at Fate, when a golden tiara hit the villain's forehead.

"AARGH! That hurts!" The villain growled, forgetting about Fate by the moment and focusing on the Amazon princess heading against him.

WHAM!

Diana hit Super Dan at Mach-3, sending him out of the embassy; the villain landed roughly at the street, but still conserved his grip on the mace. Wonder Woman emerged from the building a moment later, charging at top speed; the villain turned intangible at the last moment to avoid another punch, and then changed back to solid to hit Diana with the mace, the Amazon blocking the attacks with her bracelets.

"Diana…"

CLANG!

"…you look…"

CLANG!

"… as pretty…"

CLANG!

"… as usual."

CLANG!

Dan's next attack got intercepted by Diana grabbing his wrist; the Amazon then tried to punch her enemy's head, but her fist got caught as well, both opponents glaring at each other.

"You don't like my nice words?" Dan said in a fake hurt tone, "Maybe you'll like my wails better!"

**WAAAAAAAIIIIIIIILLLL….!**

Diana got the ghostly wail's full power right at her face, forcing her to release Super Dan, who lost no time and hit the Amazon's chest with the mace, sending her the other side of the city.

"Ah, I missed this; too bad I'll need to destroy both Superman and this mace after finishing The League, but, well, nothing lasts forever." Super Dan said to himself; in his future, he realized that Superman would break free of his control eventually, so killed him by swallowing a chunk of kryptonite before leaving the hero's body; he also had to get rid of the mace, knowing it was one of the few weapons that could hurt him.

Dan looked behind him when hearing the distinctive noise of two leaguers being teleported, and grinned widely when recognizing both Captain Marvel and Captain Atom's appearing.

"Are we going to play baseball? The League already brought the caps!"

"Shut up, and give up!" Captain Atom attacked Dan with a red blast that succeeded on stunning the villain, "I can mimic red sun's radiation, so can fight Superman without using kryptonite!"

The radiated hero used his blast again, but Dan stopped it with a little ghostly shield; he then tried to blast CA as well, but Marvel intercepted the shot, and charged against the villain, hitting him several times, and then holding Super Dan on a wrestling move so CA could hit him as well, forcing Dan to drop the mace.

"If you don't want more punishment, release Superman, now!" Captain Marvel said at the villain, who, amazingly, laughed loudly.

"Before doing that, I must tell you guys two secrets; one, even if overshadowing Superman, I can still overshadow others; and two, I know your secret, Marvel."

At that moment, Super Dan turned intangible and dived inside CM's body, protecting himself from CA's attacks, and then forced the hero to say his magical word before jumping out from his body.

"SHAZAM!"

KRAKOOM!

The magical lightning stunned Captain Atom while changing Marvel back to Billy Batson; the boy tried to say the word again, but Super Dan slapped him, sending Billy the other side of the street, unconscious and barely breathing.

"And about you, Mister Silver and Shiny…"

CLANG!

Super Dan started hitting Captain Atom several times, barely pausing, while, unnoticed to him, Danny got teleported as well, appearing next to Billy.

"Billy? Billy! It's me, Danny! Can you hear me?" Phantom leaned next to Billy, and checked his vital signs; his pulse was almost as weak as his breath.

"J'onn! J'onn! We need help here!" Danny yelled at his communicator, and got the Martian's reply by telepathy.

"**_I'm getting his lectures from here; Bill has almost no time left… nobody has!"_**

"What do you mean?"

"_**Captain Atom's body is made of pure energy; his skin is actually a container suit. If Dan keeps hitting him, it's just a matter of time before releasing all that power with a massive explosion!"**_

"The third weapon… a living nuclear one! Dan is going to destroy Metropolis, the embassy, and half of the leaguers!" Danny got a shocked expression, and then looked down at Billy, getting a desperate idea.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

As J'onn feared, the continuous attack was shattering CA's suit, and causing minor radioactive leaks; Dan chuckled evilly and pinned his enemy with a hand while aiming at his head with the mace.

"If I explode… you'll die as well…"

"With Superman's invulnerability and my ghostly shield for protection, I doubt it… actually, I'm sure it will work; have done it before. Good bye, Cap!"

WHOOSH!

A red blur grabbed Captain Atom at the last moment, leaving an extremely pissed Super Dan behind.

"FLASH! OH, I'M SO GOING TO CRIPPLE YOU… AGAIN!"

"SHAZAM!"

KRAKOOM!

"What the…" Super Dan turned to see Captain Marvel charging against him.

WHAKAM!

Super Dan dropped the mace as the hero punched him up in the sky. The red outfitted hero then flew top speed to hit him again, Dan intercepting the fist, and turning intangible a moment later.

"Don't know how you survived, but I'll solve that immediately!"

Super Dan tried to overshadow CM's again, but got stopped by a ghostly shield forming around him.

"Sorry, but this hero is occupied."

"Danny?" Super Dan got a surprised expression.

"For you, I'm Danny Marvel!"

BLAST!

The villain got impacted against a nearby building, and, before he could defend himself, Danny Marvel attacked him with a series of ghostly rays; with Captain Marvel's strength, the blasts were a lot more powerful.

"Hey, that's not fair! Possessing a hero's body is my thing!"

"Look who's talking about fairness! At least Marvel will forgive me later for this." Danny attacked Dan again, but the villain escaped by phasing through the building's walls. He then emerged and attacked Danny with a massive energy ball, stunning him; the villain then charged against him, but the hero escaped by turning intangible as well. Danny turned solid again, and both he and Dan exchanged several blasting attacks, punches and kicks, until getting caught in a strength test.

"You really had improved a lot, Danny, but let's face it; even if Superman and Marvel have almost the same level, I'm still stronger than you, so will win this eventually." Dan chuckled as slowly twisting Danny's wrists, ready to get the upper hand at any moment.

"Yes… you might do it… if we were fighting alone! J'onn!"

"The Martian? Where… ARRRGH!" Dan released his enemy as grabbing the sides of his head in pain.

"_**Get out of this body, specter!"**_

"Stupid alien… I resisted your telepathy the first time… and will do it again!" Dan growled furiously.

"Resist this!" Danny jumped out of Captain Marvel's body, and dived inside Superman's; CM shook his head when regaining conscience.

"I'm sure someone will give me a full explanation later."

Inside Superman's body, Danny struggled with his elder self for control.

"GET OUT OF HERE, BOY!"

"THE MOMENT YOU DO IT, WACKO!"

"I'M SO GOING TO…"

Dan's threat got cut by a golden lasso trapping Superman's body. Wonder Woman then flew in front of the possessed hero's body, eyeing him.

"My lasso forces everyone to see the truth," Diana glared at her enemy, "And the truth is, this is Superman's body and no one else!"

"YOU HEARD THE LADY… WE'RE GOING OUT!"

"NOOOOO!"

After a few moments, the combination of J'onn's telepathy, Diana's lasso, and Danny's own power was too much for Dan, and both he and Danny jumped out of Superman's body, the younger ghost boy more exhausted than his enemy.

"You ruined everything, you…"

Dan felt a strong hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Captain Marvel's grinning face.

"Shazam."

KRAKOOM!

The hero dashed to avoid the lightning that hit Dan instead. The evil ghost fell down to the street, charred and stunned; Dan tried to stand up, but received a generous dose of Superman's heat vision that sent him the other side of the street.

"There are rules against using other people's bodies, you know?" Danny hovered over Dan, him and the other heroes surrounding him as well.

"You fools… none of you can rival my ghostly powers." Dan stood up slowly, his hands glowing, and got a battle stance. "And you'll never get me alive."

"You're the fusion of two ghostly halves; technically, you're not alive." Danny pointed, which made Dan to growl furiously.

"I'm not returning to… wait… what… NOOO!" Dan felt the familiar sucking energy, and looked back, gasping when noticing The Atom regaining his natural size and aiming at him with a Thermos of his own.

"NO! NO! NOT THE THERMOOOOOSSSS!"

"Not bad for my first home-made Thermos, don't you think?" Ray Palmer got a sly smile while closing the trap. The other heroes got little grins, but Danny was short lived.

"I'm sorry, guys."

"What do you mean, Danny?" Superman asked him.

"Dan is my evil future self, remember? I'm, at least, partially responsible for everything he does… and knowing he killed all of you in his time-line…"

"Danny, there's an alternate dimension where we turned into evil dictators and I killed the president," Superman said in a calm tone, "Do you think we'll do the same in this world?"

"No, of course not!" Danny got a shocked expression, "I mean you guys are heroes!"

"And in that dimension, we fell, just like you in the time-line that originated Dan," Superman pointed, "and we're not making responsible for his actions. You are doing greatly on your own, and we're all here to cover and help each other, so you'll never turn into him."

Danny got a little smile, and then a surprised one when the Thermos got covered in a bright golden sphere.

"And I will get sure he'll never return." Everyone turned to see Doctor Fate chanting a spell, and, a second later, the device disappeared. "It's done; now, nobody but me knows where it is, and how to bring him back."

"That's great, but, how about the ghost that released him?" Captain Marvel pointed, Danny replying with a sly grin.

"She's being handled as we talk."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Desiree stopped at her favorite place, next to the park's fountain, looking around in fear.

"I really should be more careful with those wishes; that's it, next time someone asks for a ghost, he or she will be smaller than me."

"But you have to grant every wish you want, isn't it?"

"Yes, you're right about…" Desiree froze and turned to see Valerie, Sam and Tucker aiming at her with their blasters. The genie ghost tried to escape the other way, but found The Fentons with their own weapons, Jazz holding a large piece of paper.

"Do it, Jazzie-Pants." Jack grinned at his daughter, who moved a step ahead and addressed Desiree.

"I wish that everything in this paper gets granted, just like it's written."

Desiree tried to resist, knowing that it wouldn't be good for her, but had no choice but granting it; worst of all, being a written wish and not a loud-voiced one, the genie ghost had no idea of what it was and therefore couldn't manipulate it for her gain.

"As so you wished… and you know the rest." The paper got covered on pink energy, and, a second later, Desiree vanished.

"What did you write in there?" Tucker asked Jazz, who put the paper in front of her eyes and read it.

"It says 'Desiree will return to The Ghost Zone, and never, ever, return to the physical realm'; and guess it worked."

Sam and Tucker looked at each other, and then slapped their own foreheads before chorusing.

"Why we never thought about that?"


	9. Epilogue

**- Epilogue.**

**Amity Park.**

Three years later.

"Oh, Danny, you look so handsome!"

"Mom," The now 18 years old, taller and slightly muscular Danny, on his graduating outfit, rolled his eyes yet stood still and smiled so Maddie could take a picture.

"Danny, hurry up!" Tucker called his friend from the school hall's door.

"I'm coming! See you guys later." Danny said to his family as dashing into the hall as well. The boy turned invisible so nobody else could notice him entering until becoming visible again right next to Valerie, who was alongside Tucker, and Sam right behind them, waiting for the graduation ceremony to start.

"How do you feel?" Val smiled at her boyfriend as placing a hand on his shoulder.

"A little nervous; can't believe we're finally here." Danny smiled back at her.

"You do mega-cool stunts on a regular basis and still get nervous?" Sam smirked playfully at him.

"Oh, come on; stop a meteorite once, and nobody ever forgets it." Danny rolled his eyes in fake annoyance.

"Hey, Danny, look who came too." Tucker pointed back, and the group turned to see reporter Clark Kent and multi-millionaire Bruce Wayne sitting alongside Danny's family and Valerie's dad; Tucker's parents sat in front, giving him the thumbs up, while Sam's were trying their best to impress Bruce, but, obviously, only succeeded in embarrassing themselves.

"Don't you think that's a little bit too suspicious?" Sam whispered to Danny and Valerie.

"Nope; one of them is our parents' boss and the other a reporter covering The Red Huntress and Danny Phantom's alter egos graduation." Danny pointed at her friend.

"Still can't believe they're…" Valerie covered Tucker's mouth.

"Talk a little higher, Tuck, some people at Gotham couldn't hear you." Valerie whispered in an angry tone, making him to chuckle nervously.

"And that's why it took Danny and Val one whole year to tell us other heroes' civilian names." Sam rolled her eyes as the ceremony finally started. Danny looked back to his family one last time, smiling even more when noticing Danielle on her human look sitting with them.

About half and hour later, Lancer started calling the students to give them their diplomas.

"With his notes, can't believe this one graduated," Lancer talked to himself as taking out the first diploma, and then cleared his throat to call the graduate, "Baxter, Dash!"

Dash walked on stage, several people clapping at him as he picked up the diploma. Unnoticed to everyone, someone was spying through the hall's window, thanks to a powerful telescopic sight on his gun, almost one mile away from the school; said someone was using a red and silver commando-like outfit, with a mask that covered his face entirely, and more firepower on his disguise than some countries.

"According to the list, this one is a B," Deadshot said to himself, "Good thing aren't many ones within the C and the F."

Without losing sight of the stage, the assassin took out a special bullet he prepared for the occasion, one with an ectoplasm charge, especially designed for a half-ghost whose name was mentioned a few minutes later.

"Fenton, Daniel."

Danny stood up, the crowd erupting in clapping and some people taking pictures; he blushed a little bit, but silently was thanking that people at home were more accepting of his condition and, even if still calling attention, he and Val got enough respect of their private life to actually have one.

Of course there were exceptions.

"Danny, please, is not too late! You can still have me!" Paulina almost jumped from her seat, but Star stopped her, "Let me go, Star! Which side are you?"

"Which side do you want your teeth if Valerie gets angry?" The blonde smirked at Paulina, making her to gulp in fear, especially when noticing Val's glare. The Latino female gave the huntress a sheepish smile and stayed on her seat, sweating bullets.

"She's learning; one year ago I would have needed to show my teeth." Valerie smiled at Tucker and Sam, who chuckled slightly.

Danny finally received his diploma and a hand-shake from Lancer; the moment Deadshot was waiting for.

"Time to go full ghost, kid," the villain smirked, and, when about to shoot, his body froze. The criminal stood up, and dropped the weapon.

"Nice job, Boston." The villain looked up at Galatea, who had added a red cape and belt to her outfit since two years ago.

"Hey, call me Deadman when working; I call you Power Girl, isn't it?" 'Deadshot' said as disarming his weapons, "Wow, look at this; the guy has kryptonite bullets too."

"Yeah, we suspected that; why do you think I didn't just beat him to a pulp on first place?" The blonde smirked at the man, who got rid of his uniform's remaining weapons.

"Are you sure that was the last weapon?"

"Totally; now, give me a moment to leave this body, and then he's all yours." The man chuckled, and then, a pale specter on a red outfit jumped out of him; unlike other ghosts, this couldn't be heard or seen unless overshadowing someone, but in compensation, he could do this trick much better than most specters.

"Hey… where's my gun?" Deadshot, recovering conscience, looked at his hands, and then at the powerful woman smirking at him. "Uh… this is going to hurt."

"You said it."

WHAM!

"Gray, Valerie." Lancer called Val, who got cheered and photographed as well, Danny and Tucker waiting for her next to the stage.

"No villains or ghosts attacking… yeah, this is a good graduation."

"Yes, it is, Tucker," Danny took a ring out from his pocket, one that originally had a name carved on it, and now had Val's, and smiled, "and it will get better."

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Later that same day, at the Watchtower, a different graduation took place.

"Your full-time membership card, Danny," Superman handled Phantom his card, with Valerie next to her boyfriend on her hunting outfit, and several heroes surrounded them.

"Welcome to the League."

Everyone started clapping at Danny (Plastic Man actually did it with ten hands at a time) while Valerie kissed him deeply for a few seconds, the female on her huntress outfit yet Danny's ring was visible through her glove. When breaking the kiss, Danny smiled at her, and then directed to his teammates.

"Guys, this is so great… all I can say is… thanks for accepting me, and I'll do my best to not disappointing anyone."

"We know you will not," Superman told him, "and, to finish the day, we have a first core member's mission ready. Power Girl," Superman moved aside to allow her approach her friend.

"I got a guy today working for an old pal of you; it took me some… persuasion, but finally told me about the fool's plans for today without you getting on his way." The blonde folded her arms and gave him a knowing smile he replied with a similar one.

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**Belle Reeve Prison.**

Midnight.

A lonely prisoner lying on his cell's bed opened an eye and smirked as a little robotic spider avoided the security's measures and approached him. The man grabbed the spider and placed it on his belt, deactivating the mechanisms and opening it.

"Hate to admit it, but Luthor really makes good toys." Vlad Masters smiled evilly, and then transformed into his Plasmius' persona for the first time in years, activating an anti-ghost alarm.

"Maybe ghosts can't phase through these walls, but can destroy them!" Vlad chuckled as shooting a powerful blast at the wall, flying through the resulting hole.

"Going somewhere, Vlad?"

The villain stopped on mid-air, growling in fury as Danny hovered in front of him.

"If you felt lonely, I could have arranged the warden allowing you have a cat."

"Daniel… three years older and more annoying," Vlad groaned, "What are you doing here?"

"You wouldn't believe how good pissed Kryptonians are to interrogate super-villains." Danny smirked at his enemy. "Now, be a good criminal, and go back to your cell."

"Older or not, Daniel, I'm still your superior!" Vlad shot a ghostly blast at Danny, who deflected it with a little shield.

"Nope, you're just older."

Vlad charged against Danny, trying to punch him, but he grabbed his enemy's wrist and threw him over his shoulder on a judo toss, taking Vlad out of balance. The criminal shook his head to recover, but Danny didn't give him a chance, punching Vlad's stomach and then kicking his chin, sending him against the prison's wall. Vlad turned intangible to avoid a ghostly blast, and attacked Danny with one of his own, but the younger halfa dodged it, and then shot a freezing ray at Vlad's hands, blocking his blasts for good. Danny then punched Vlad's head with both fists at the same time, impacting the villain against the ground.

"I see you had been working out, Daniel." Vlad stood up slowly, glaring at his opponent.

"Just a little bit," Danny smirked, "Now, are you giving up?"

"I still have more tricks, Daniel." Vlad used his multiplying technique, and surrounded Danny with his copies.

"Same here," Danny turned invisible, and reappeared out from the Vlads' circle.

"**Ghostly WAAAAIIIIILLLL…."**

The Vlads received the wail's full power, and fell down to earth, all of them disappearing but the original. Danny hovered over him, panting yet conserving his ghostly form.

"If weren't on opposing sides… I would feel so proud right now…"

"Look, Vlad, why don't we stop doing this and give up already? If we keep fighting, I'm going to hurt you for good, and trust me, don't want that." Danny landed next to Vlad and talked on his best calm tone.

"No… I'm not losing, Daniel. And there's no way you're going to drop me back into that cage!" Vlad got back his fighting stance.

"Well, guess there's only one thing left to do," Danny sighed and pressed a button on his communicator.

"What are you doing?" Vlad wide opened his eyes in fear.

A second later, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Power Girl, The Red Huntress and Captain Marvel got teleported around Danny and Vlad, the last one gulping and turning even paler.

"Only way to finish this quickly with minimal damage is with a fast, very one-sided beating," Danny shrugged, "or you giving up, of course."

"I'm not giving up!" Vlad shouted, and covered his mouth immediately when finally realizing about his situation, "Oh, I hate being so proud!"

"This is the kind of bad guys I like; can hurt them as hard as want without anyone feeling guilty." Power Girl cracked her knuckles as approaching the villain.

"Want the face or the body, Danny?" Val smirked at Danny as she approached Vlad as well.

"Be my guests, ladies." Danny moved aside, allowing the blonde and Valerie to jump over Vlad.

**WHAM! WHACK! PUNCH! THUD! CRASH!...**

"If only needed them, why you asked us to come too?" Superman whispered to Danny as the beating continued.

"To help me stop Valerie and Galatea," Danny shrugged while watching his girlfriend and the blonde kicking Vlad's butt, "in a few more minutes, of course."

The rest of the heroes raised an eyebrow at Danny.

"Don't worry; half-ghosts heal really fast." Danny and the others then gave a second look at Vlad's beating, wide-opening their eyes.

"And Vlad is very lucky for that."

**THE END.**

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(That last scene was a little bit too cruel, don't you think?) Yes; I'm not a stinker? (Yes, you are, you wascally wabbit!)

Okay, bad impressions aside, thanks a lot to all of you for reading and reviewing the story. (And guys, would it kill you to suggest Ramiro here to give me a girlfriend? I mean, there was a ton of girls in tights in this story, and didn't get even a little kiss!) Maybe you'll like one from Poison Ivy, you know, the lady with toxic lips? (Don't know what's worse; the fact you're suggesting that, of that I'm really considering it.)

So long, everyone, and keep the good writing.


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